The Princess of the Moon's Quest
by star0704
Summary: Struggling to overcome the betrayal of the scouts and Darien, Serena runs away with Luna and Artemis to start a new life only to discover no matter how much you change, the past always catches up with you. This story is currently being reconstructed.
1. The Betrayal

Hello, everyone

Hello, everyone! Well I started this fanfic and just never seemed to finish it. Now I'm trying to reconstruct it and hopefully make it more organized and interesting. Remember, I do not own Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi does. Now, on with the story!

Chapter 1: The Betrayal

"I have to get up. They need me. Get up, Serena. Now!" Serena chanted over and over again to herself. Her head was throbbing and her right arm hung limp at her side.

Pushing herself off of the cold ground, she realized that one of her ankles was sprained. Determination filled her eyes as she heard the cries of pain from her fellow team mates. Starting to sprint, she ran towards their anguish filled shouts.

Flash back

BEEP. BEEP. Luna shot up in the air at the annoying sound of the communicator. "Serena, wake up. Something's wrong." Serena's eyes opened blearily at Luna's voice. "What is it, Luna?" Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Serena grabbed the communicator out of Luna's mouth.

At the push of the button, Sailor Mercury's tired face filled the screen. "Scouts…youma attack…park..." "Serena…" "I know, Luna. Moon Crystal Power!" Lights lit up the room as Serena was encased in ribbons. When darkness settled back in, Serena and Luna were gone.

Rubeus watched as Sailor Moon ran towards the park. Grinning evilly, he flicked his hand and a black portal opened up behind him. Two black shapes appeared for an instant then melted into the darkness.

"Too bad, Sailor Moon, that you're going to miss the show. Now no one will stop the Rabbit from being mine." Laughing he disappeared into the night, readying himself for the show.

Sailor Moon ran, pushing herself to the limit to try to be on time to save her friends. Faithful companion as always, Luna ran by her side in sync with her master. Out of the corner of her eye, Luna saw something black spiraling towards them.

"Sailor Moon, get out of the way!" Reacting on pure instinct, Sailor Moon dove towards the ground, scooping up Luna along the way. Before even hitting the ground, they were pushed into the air as another black ball of negative energy was hurled into Sailor Moon's back. Biting back a scream, Sailor Moon rolled onto the ground. Luna ran out of her arms alarmed.

"Sailor Moon, are you alright?"

"Luna, hide. I'll be fine." Grunting, Sailor Moon pushed herself up. Cackles of laughter floated into the air. The hair on the duo's neck stood up as the inky.

"Sailor Moon, watch out!" With the help of Luna, Sailor Moon barely avoided another blast. Spotting the enemy, she yelled out her attack.

"Moon Tiara Magic!" Both of them gasped in surprise when the youma just batted the tiara away like it was an annoying fly.

Grinding her teeth in frustration, Sailor Moon whipped out her wand.

"Fine, you want to play rough? Moon Healing Escalation!"

Not expecting this attack, the youma was flung back into a tree. Before it could get up, Sailor Moon yelled the attack again.

"Yes! Sailor Moon, you did it!" Sailor Moon watched as the youma turned to dust. "Now, its time to help the others." Sailor Moon started to run.

With her guard down, she had no chance to avoid the other energy ball coming at her right. Screaming in pain, Sailor Moon was hit in the arm. Eyes widening, she watched as a second youma appeared. Luna screamed to run, as the youma started to run towards Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon started to run, but the youma threw out its arms which turned into vines and held her captured.

"Sailor Moon, no!" Luna madly dashed and attacked the youma with her nails, but was ruthlessly thrown to the ground. Sailor Moon looked on in dismay as Luna lost consciousness. "Now, I will suck your energy dry!" The youma laughed hysterically at their predicament.

Struggling, Sailor Moon's body started to go limp as waves of her energy was sucked towards the youma. "I'm sorry, my friends. I failed you." Eyes filling with tears, Sailor Moon whispered her apology to her friends.

"World Shaking!" Sailor Moon dropped to the ground lifelessly. "Neptune Deep Submerge!" Gathering her remaining strength, Sailor Moon managed to open her eyes just in time to see the youma turn to dust. Roaming the area with her eyes, she found her saviors. There were two figures standing in the darkness, watching her. Just as soon as she focused in on them, they disappeared.

Glancing over at Luna and seeing that she was alright, she started the hard process of getting up.

End flash back

After what seemed like an eternity, Sailor Moon made it to the park. She had left Luna behind after she promised to catch up. Scanning the battlefield, she saw with a relief that everyone was alright.

Sailor Venus was kneeling on the ground, tending to Sailor Mercury's wounds while Tuxedo Mask was holding Rini to the side. Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter were struggling to finish off a youma. Gathering what little energy she had left, Sailor Moon finished the youma off with her wand.

As if they just realized she was there, they all turned around to stare at her. Most of their faces were filled with anger, but some were void of any emotion. Sailor Moon stood still as Sailor Mars stalked over to her.

A ringing sound echoed through the empty park as Mars slapped her leader. "Do you realize we could have been killed? Or do you not even care?" Pausing to take a breath, she continued her angry rant. "Where were you Sailor Moon? Sleeping or maybe having a late night? Do you see what happened to Ami? She could have died, but you obviously don't care or you would have been here!"

Eyes filled with tears, Sailor Moon opened her mouth to defend her actions, but was silenced when Mars continued. "You disgust me. You don't deserve to be leader anymore. I can't sit by anymore and let you continue to put others at risk. Rini could have been captured tonight." Disgust filled Mars' gaze and as if she couldn't stand the sight anymore, she turned her face to look at her comrades. Sailor Moon, too, gazed at her friends' faces. Wondering if they too had thought she betrayed them.

Sailor Jupiter ignored her pleading gaze and said with venom in her voice, "I agree with Mars. Mercury could have been killed today. This isn't some video game, Sailor Moon. We need a leader who will take this seriously. One who doesn't fall asleep during meetings and actually is on time to fights."

As if slapped by her too, Sailor Moon's desperately sought out another scout.

"Venus?"

Sailor Venus' void face turned hard. "I agree with Jupiter. I nominate Sailor Mars to be our new leader." Sailor Moon gasped and rapidly looked to her good friend, Sailor Mercury. Sailor Mercury had de-transformed and was leaning on Venus. One look into her eyes and Sailor Moon knew she would once again be disappointed.

"I am sorry, Sailor Moon. We need a responsible leader. I, too, vote for Mars." With that said and done, Ami turned her gaze to the ground. Turning her own gaze to her last chance, one that would surely be on her side, Sailor Moon looked at Tuxedo Mask.

Behind his mask, blue eyes were bright with rage. Recoiling with shock, Sailor Moon started to openly cry.

"You were always a ditz and lazy. When it was revealed that you were the princess, I thought you would revert back to Serenity and start acting like one. But you're nothing like her. I loved Serenity, I never loved Serena. We're through, I'm not going to let my past rule me anymore."

Now with everyone openly glaring at her, Sailor Moon lost it. She was on the verge of collapsing and all of her so-called friends couldn't even see it.

"Fine, you think I wanted to be Sailor Moon? I never wanted to be! All I ever wanted to be was normal." Taking a deep breath, she de-transformed. Feeling her strength rapidly leaving her, she finished her speech. "I thought you were all my friends, but I guess I was mistaken. I don't want to hear from any of you ever again. I'm through being Sailor Moon." She threw done her locket, the silver crystal safely tucked away somewhere safe, and ran off.

No one realized that a little girl was missing.

Luna cautiously walked over to Sailor Mars. She had seen Sailor Moon run off, but had missed the fight. All she knew was that Sailor Moon was hurt and needed to be resting, not straining her body anymore.

"Mars, what's wrong with Sailor Moon?"

Mars glanced down at her and rudely said, "What, that dim wit? She's crying like a baby because we kicked her out. We voted and we don't want her to be our leader anymore. Sailor Mercury almost died because of her carelessness!"

Luna looked at her shocked, and then turned to the rest of the scouts. By the look on their faces, she could tell that they were all in concordance with what Mars said.

Despite the anger she felt, she asked calmly, "Did any of you ask her why she was late?" Artemis had just run up to Luna's side looking confused.

Only Venus replied, "Well, we already knew she was either sleeping or pigging out." Luna just glared at her and repeated the question. Silence filled the area, but only Ami looked shameful.

"Fine, since none of you are willing to answer, I'll take that as a no. Then, why would you assume she wasn't in the position to come help. Did any of you think that maybe she too would be off fighting a youma or maybe even helping someone else?" Luna's scolding only affected Ami; to everyone else it fell on deaf ears.

Defiant as always, Mars argued. "Well, it doesn't matter anyways because she is always late!" Steam coming out of her ears, Luna opened her mouth to rebuke her, but Artemis beat her to it. "I have no idea what is going on, but I think it is you, Mars, who shouldn't be Sailor Mars. The scouts are always supposed to be loyal to their princess, no matter what. Maybe it isn't Sailor Moon who failed, but the scouts who failed her." With that said, the two felines ran off to try to amend some of the hurt done to their princess.

Serena ran to her house. Luckily for her, the house was vacant. Her parents and Sammy had gone to the hot springs for the weekend. Serena had declined because it was Darien's and her anniversary this weekend. Racing up to her room, Serena took out her stationary. Scrubbing at her eyes, she got out two pieces of paper. Clearing her mind off the anger and depression, she concentrated on writing a good-bye letter to her family.

"Dear Mom, Dad, and Sammy,

I know I was supposed to wait until next week to go to Melissa's, but I'm leaving tonight instead. Please don't tell anyone where I'm going. I'm probably going to be staying longer than originally planned too. If any of my so-called friends or boyfriend come asking about me, please don't tell them anything. They caused me a great deal of pain and I wish to start anew somewhere else. Please just remember this, I'll always love you and I'll be back one day. I'll be checking up on you guys soon, so don't worry! I'll be fine.

Love always and forever,

Serena Tsukino"

Folding the piece of paper, she sealed it into the pink envelope. Mentally preparing herself, she started the second letter.

"Dear scouts and Darien,

I know that I'm nothing like Serenity. If anything, I am her polar opposite. Yet I stupidly thought that was good enough for you, that somehow you guys learned to accept me for who I am. I now realize how wrong I was for thinking that. I'm going somewhere I can learn to be stronger and become a good leader. I'm sorry if in the end, I wasn't good enough for you. Please take care of Rini for me. Just know this one last thing, I will never forgive you. The Serena you knew is gone now and this new Serena is not so forgiving or naive. Good luck with the Nega verse without me, Luna, or Artemis.

Serena Tsukino"

After that down she contacted Luna and Artemis through her telepathic link. They had just recently figured it out and were going to surprise the scouts with it later on the next day.

Surprised at how angry they sounded, she went over her plan with them and begged them to meet her at the airport. Gathering their reassurance that they would meet her there, she proceeded to start packing for her trip.

At the park, the scouts and Tuxedo Mask watched as the cats ran off. What they had just said started to sink in.

Ami started sobbing, "What have I done? She was my first and only friend. What kind of friend am I? I repay her by abandoning her and turning against her!" Her anguish started to affect the other scouts.

Mina gently squeezed her shoulder. "It's alright Ames. We all said some pretty harsh things. I'm sure Serena will forgive us, but the most important thing to do right now is get you to the hospital. Darien, can you carry her there?" Rei looked up to the starry sky just in time to see one star flicker out of existence. Shivering, she ran to catch up with the rest of her team.

At the airport, Serena stood waiting patiently for her companions. She had already set out the letters for everyone and had gone by Molly's house to say good-bye. One thing was always for certain, whether or not she was Sailor Moon, was that Molly would be her friend and stick by her side.

Molly had cried and begged her not to leave, but in the end knew it was the only decision that Serena had. Before Serena left her, Molly had made her promise to write. Serena snapped back to the present when she saw Luna and Artemis slip past security. Artemis looked sincere and Luna still looked a little peeved.

"I'm glad you two could make it. I wouldn't know how to start my new life without you guys." Serena felt her self tearing up again, but stayed strong.

"So, you really are leaving then?" Artemis asked questioningly.

"Of course, Artemis, she is. She couldn't possibly stay with things they are now." Luna scolded.

Serena smiled; at least some things wouldn't change. "Yes, Artemis, I am. My new name will be Usagi Bunny Moon. Now, I want to make sure that both of you are willing to come with me." Serena hesitated; she was praying they would agree to come.

"Of course, we're coming. You can't possibly go off alone! Anyways, I couldn't stand seeing the scouts again so soon. If I did, I will surely go on a rampage!" Luna assured her.

Artemis looked uncertain. "I don't know. What if the scouts are approached by new enemies and need my help?" Usagi crouched down and looked at Artemis.

"After I left the scouts, Mother appeared to me and said that there won't be anymore enemies here as long as I stay gone. The main reason they were here in the first place was for the silver imperial crystal, so you don't have to worry about that. Please come with me, Artemis. Or else Luna will be awfully lonely!"

Her blue eyes became bigger and started to shimmer with tears. Artemis had no chance. "Alright, count me in. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into!" He grumbled.

"Great! Now, in order for things to go as planned, you two can't stay in cat form any longer." Serena warned. Both felines looked unsure, but Serena reassured them. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Follow me outside for a minute."

Ducking into an alley outside the airport, Serena clasped her hands together and started whispering. Bright light emitted from her clasped hands then traveled to glow around Luna and Artemis.

Luna transformed into an elderly woman with long black hair. Some were in Usagi's trademark style, but most of it just hung down a little past her ankles. She was wearing a pale yellow dress with a purple coat. She also had a purse and beside her some luggage.

Artemis changed into a man with long, white hair and was wearing blue jeans with a white button up t-shirt. He also had one suitcase along with a briefcase and a black jacket draped over his arm.

"Wow, you two look fantastic! Now for the essentials. Here are your tickets, green cards, and etc." Usagi took the next five minutes handing out everything and getting things situated. They all had the last name Moon and would now be a temporary family.

Artemis and Luna were now Usagi's guardians. Rushing back into the airport, Artemis and Luna checked in their luggage. They had just gotten everything done when they heard their plane flight being called over the speaker.

While inspecting their new clothes and luggage, Luna and Artemis had realized that the new life the silver imperial crystal had prepared for them was fantastic. They had enough money to last them for a life time and even had jobs ready for them in their new life. Settling down on the train, the new family realized that this time, things would be different.


	2. New Life, New Friends, New Enemies

Usual disclaimer, I do not own any of the characters represented in this story except for two

Usual disclaimer, I do not own any of the characters represented in this story except for two. This chapter jumps between Tokyo and New York a lot, but that can't be helped!

Note: Scouts are all 18. Darien and generals are 24. Outers are 22.

Chapter 2

4 years later

"Lita, wait up!" Mina called, running to catch up with her brunette friend. Lita just laughed, turning around to tease Mina.

"Come on, blondie! You're just like…" Her smile fell from her face as she stopped. Seizing the opportunity, Mina caught up to her.

Smiling softly, she put her arm around Lita's shoulder. "Come on, let's go meet the others."

Three years had passed since the fateful encounter in the park. Every one of them regretted everyday what they said to their princess, Rei especially. Amy had tried to use her Mercury computer, but it was like their princess had vanished.

Five minutes later, the duo managed to finally make their way up the steps of Rei's temple. Every one was already there, munching on bon bons and sipping tea, carrying on merrily. Trista spotted them and quieted the room.

"Okay, every one, settle down. This meeting has begun." She paused to glance around the room at the Inner and Outer scouts, and also Darien.

"I called you all here because this concerns our princess and the queen." Gasps filled the room followed by insistent questioning.

"Silence." The quiet tone of her voice left no room for argument.

"As I was saying, the queen notified me earlier of a decision she has came to. The Inners no longer have the responsibility of protecting the princess. That duty will be assigned to new guardians."

Once again she glanced around at the shocked faces of the Inner sailor scouts and the knowing faces of the Outers. Darien looked abnormally pale, but otherwise stoic.

"You should be grateful. Now you no longer have to put up with all the characteristics of the princess you all thought was annoying. You are only being allowed to keep your powers due to the fact that a new threat is coming, and even you will be needed to help defend this planet and others from it. With this in mind, train and build up your strength for times to come."

Turning to leave, she opened up a time portal. Hotaru, Michelle, and Amara stood up to follow her. Amara looked at each of the scouts and Darien with a disgusted look on her face.

"We will no longer be in touch with any of you." Michelle said calmly.

"We all felt the pain you all put our princess through." Hotaru added quietly.

"Each and every one of you should feel ashamed for what you have done. Being cruel to a person who has done nothing but been your friend when no one else would. You make me sick." With Amara leaving the last word, they all disappeared leaving those that remained time to consider once again what they had done.

In another place

Sunshine filtered through the trees as a lone lady walked through the park, reflecting calmly upon her life. Stooping down by the pond, she fished out some crumbs out of a brown paper bag she carried.

Shadows covered her face as she quietly feed the demanding creatures. Sighing she broke the silence and smiled at the little duckling trying to consume a much too big piece of bread.

Watching, she saw the mother duck break down the piece of food with her beak for her baby. Looking up at the sky, she was reminded of her charge that no longer needed her guidance.

"Oh, princess, I can't believe how much you have changed. No longer are you the meatball head who couldn't pick up a book that held you're attention long enough to read to a young lady who got into the best college money could afford." Luna smiled as she remembered Usagi's face when she read her acceptance letter.

They had traveled to New York after the betrayal of the scouts and Darien. Usagi had worked on her grades and had excelled at high school. She had done so well, she was allowed to skip some grades.

While Usagi applied herself in school, Luna and Artemis had rented a building with the money they had and opened up what they call Silver Moonlight Castle.

Each level of the building contained something different and soon flourished into a nationwide enterprise. On the first floor of the building, guests signed in and were checked by security. The second floor contained renowned businesses and the third floor had a ballroom and restaurant for these companies to conduct some of their deals.

The fourth floor was bedrooms and other rooms any hotel would have. The final floor, the fifth floor, held an indoor swimming pool and other training rooms. Included was a beautiful garden tended to by Usagi and sometimes Luna.

Standing up Luna left the pond and continued on down the path. Glancing at the watch on her wrist, she picked up her pace. She was on her way to meet up with Usagi, Artemis, and much to surprise of everyone, Endymion's generals.

Upon their interviews for the companies that would occupy the second floor, Luna and Artemis had stumbled across the reincarnations of the generals.

At first, there was a bit of apprehension on Luna and Artemis' parts, but after a few explanations, they were welcomed in by the trio as a part of the family. There was Keith, once known as Kunzinite; Zach, also known as Zoyicite; Jed aka Jediate; and finally Nathan, once known as Nephrite.

The generals that the Inner scouts and Sailor Moon fought had been clones that the NegaVerse managed to conjure from strands of DNA left by the previous generals during the Silver Millennium.

Walking down the road with a book in hand, reading mindlessly without paying attention to her scenery, no one who had known her three years previously would have recognized the moon princess.

With silver hair cascading down her back, free of the traditional buns and held in place by a sky blue headband, the former princess walked with the grace of a ballerina, dodging every obstacle in her way without a thought.  
Pausing, she looked at the synopsis of the book once again. 'Hmm…this book reminds me of Mars.' Discarding the thought, she continued to read the tale of a young boy who could start a fire with a wish.

Adhering to a promise, she either wrote or talked to Molly everyday that filled her in on the town's gossip and other news. At Christmas and birthdays, she would send her parents and Sammy presents that would have a fake return address posted on them.

She had told her parents that she was going to her cousin Melissa's house and thanks to some simple magic, they continued to believe that. A continuous ache in her heart was proof that she missed them, but she was still too hurt by the scouts to even consider returning.

Hearing her name being called, Usagi stopped and turned. Squinting against the sun, she saw two people running towards her.

Smiling she waved as she recognized them. On the first day of high school, she saw them and immediately they had a connection.

One of the two girls was named Linda also known as Sailor Star. She had long, curly, brown hair with golden highlights and violet eyes. Her complexion was light tan due to her Indian heritage. She was short just like Usagi, only 5'2" and petite. Usagi loved to trade outfits with her and they were seen continuously wearing matching outfits.

Her other new friend was Erika also known as Sailor Sun. Erika had short brownish blonde hair with hazel eyes. She was a little taller than both of them, but had long legs that both girls envied.

With the help of Linda's powers, Usagi regained all of her lost memories of her life on the moon.

Usagi's hair whipped around as the duo raced past her. Stunned, she watched as they continued sprinting ahead of her. Carried by the wind were the phrases, "Sorry, no time to wait. Luna's going to kill us if we're late again!"  
Listening to the phrases, Usagi stood there for another minute before it clicked in.

"Late? Late…oh no!" A second later, all you heard was the plea, "Hey guys! Wait for me!" Dodging pedestrians, the trio raced against the clock to make it to the Silver Moonlight Castle before their mentor did.

Back at Rei's temple

Darien had disappeared after the Outer scouts left claiming to have to do something important. Lita and Amy soon followed his example, each having things to do.

Mina procrastinated in leaving, waiting for the chance to speak to Rei alone.

"Is something the matter, Mina?" Rei asked with an inner knowledge that something was amiss with her friend.

Mina sighed softly and turned her attention to Rei. "Do you regret what you said back then?"

Rei didn't have to ask what she meant. Her expression turning solemn, she answered softly. "Every day, I regret all the harsh things I said. Looking back, now I have no clue why I would even do something like that."

Mina looked at her with a sharp glance, "I don't know why either. Its like something just came over me and I just couldn't stand the sight of her anymore. Look what's happened to us since she's left. Darien's tried to commit suicide a couple of times and Rini disappeared."

Rei nodded. "I still can't believe that she was Serena's and Darien's child from the future. Darien must be devastated. Not only did he lose Serena, but his child too."

Mina sighed once again and looked out the door. Since Serena disappeared, they had all tried to pick up the pieces of what remained and continue on with their lives.

Each one of the scouts excelled in their education and was in college on the advanced curriculum. Rei's grandfather had given the care of the temple to Rei and now she had the fulltime job of running it.

Chad still worked with her and now the two were an item. They occasionally sang duets together and even performed live at a concert once, but Rei's real passion was real estate.

Amy was still studying to become a doctor and Darien had already become one.

Lita had opened up her own bakery and ran that full time while Mina was still doing modeling with being a part time assistant for Lita.

"Well, I'll leave you to the fire reading on the new enemy. Tell me if you find anything." Mina said, picking up her bag and putting on her shoes.

"Right. Tell the others that tomorrow we start training." Mina gave Rei a small smile. "Cheer up, Mina. Everything will work out in the end. I just know it." Rei said.

Mina gave her a wistful smile and said, "I hope you're right, Rei. I hope you're right." Walking down the steps, Mina looked up at the darkening sky. "I hope one day, you will find it in your heart to forgive me, Serena."

At the Silver Moonlight Castle

By the time the three girls made it to their destination, each was in a state of fatigue.

"Ha! I beat both of you!" Erika cried out in triumph, doing the victory sign.

"No way! I beat you by a mile." Linda stated crossing her arms with a haughty look.

Usagi looked at the both of them and smiled. "It's clear to everyone, that I beat both of you." The three girls glared at each other for a minute then broke out in laughter.

"Come on, you guys. Let's hurry up and get inside before they send the men to come and get us like last time." Linda ushered them up the steps of the building already hearing the lecture from Luna about being on time for meetings.

When the trio made it onto the fifth floor to the small room off access to normal guests everyone was already inside. The Outer scouts, generals, and the two guardians were waiting patiently and smiled at them when they sat down.

"About time you three got here." Nathan teased.

"Oh, be quiet. We tried our best to make it here on time!" Linda huffed. To the others, it was an ordinary occurrence for the two to tease each other since they were siblings.

Usagi made her way to the front of the room and smiled at everyone. "Okay, let's get this session started. This meeting was called in order to evaluate our enemy. What is all the information gathered so far, Amara?"  
Amara stood up at her name and stated, "We have learned from previous encounters that the enemy is after something called the rainbow jewels. We have heard some of the demons say the name, Queen Fireheart, who we believe is the leader."

She paused to give everyone time to digest the information. "Her minions are shadow demons who can only be destroyed by light. We believe her new target is Tokyo. She thinks she can lure out the princess who she believes knows where the rainbow jewels are."

Usagi took a deep breath as Amara sat back down. "So, are these rainbow jewels like the heart crystals that were taken to form the Outer Scouts' talismans?"

Trista nodded and stood up. "Yes, the only difference is that instead of being found in pure hearts, these rainbow jewels are believed to be found in those who have a strong will and minds. We're not exactly for sure why these jewels are needed yet, only that we have to find them before the enemy does."

She resumed her seat as Nathan spoke up, "Does this mean that we have to travel to Tokyo?"

Usagi's face paled at the question and looked questioningly at Trista. Michelle answered for her, "Yes, not only do some of us have to travel there but some of us have to be by the princess' side to protect her since she too is a target."

Everyone looked at Usagi who had sat down to steady her shaky limbs. "We have already made preparations to leave for Tokyo. I believe you and Artemis have a building there, am I right, Luna?" Hotaru asked quietly.

Luna looked like she was off in another world and snapped back to attention at her name. "What? Oh, yes, we have recently just had one constructed. You're all free to use it for the time ahead."

They thanked her quietly. "I would like to go to Tokyo too." Zach offered hesitantly.

"What? You can't go and leave the princess and us alone!" Keith protested.

"I've never been to Tokyo and besides, someone needs to help them." Zach argued his determination to go fortified.

"Stop fighting, you two." Usagi's tone shushed all conversation.  
"Usagi?" Erika questioned.

"I know I'm probably just setting myself up for hurt, but I can't put countless people's lives in danger because I'm afraid of returning. I just can't run away any longer." Usagi looked down solemnly after her declaration.

"Oh, Usagi. There's nothing wrong in being a little frightened. I am too if you want to know." Luna stated tenderly, resting her hand on Usagi's shoulder.

"We're behind you 100, Usagi, on what ever you decide." Artemis added.

Usagi looked up and around the room. Everyone was nodding and agreeing.

"Don't worry, Usagi. I'll be by your side to make sure no one ever tries to hurt you this time!" Linda promised, smiling at Usagi.

"Thanks, Linda." Usagi said misty eyed.

"We know its going to be tough facing the Inner scouts, our former lovers again, but we will do it together. As a team." Said Keith.

"Its decided then, we leave in two days by teleportation. Luna, Artemis, set up preparations for us at the Silver Moonlight Castle in Tokyo. Make sure everything is ready for our arrival. If anyone needs me, I'm going to start packing."

That being said, Usagi rushed out the door and was gone before anyone could blink an eye. Everyone nodded in agreement and said their goodbyes.

Usagi laid on her bed thinking about the plans that were decided. 'I hope I'm strong enough to face the scouts without breaking down.' Usagi thought to herself.

Rolling over onto her stomach, she stared out the window at the shimmering stars. Hearing a knock, she called out for whoever to come in.  
"Sorry to bother you, but we needed a few questions answered." Linda said sheepishly. Erika's head poked in from behind her.

"Come on in, guys. What kind of questions do you have?" Linda and Erika plopped themselves down beside Usagi on her bed.

Erika looked her right in the eye before asking, "Are you positive that you want to go back there?"

Usagi sighed wearily and looked down. "To be truthful, I'm scared to death of going back and facing my former friends. But I'm even more scared of what will happen if I don't go back." She paused and looked at her friends.  
"If someone got hurt, if Amara, Hotaru, Michelle, Trista or even one of the guys got hurt because I wasn't there, I would regret it for the rest of my life." The duo looked at her with sympathetic faces.

"Don't worry; we'll be there to help you get through facing them. I bet they won't even recognize you!" Linda said trying to cheer her up.

Usagi laughed, "I know, I've changed a lot since I left!"

"Okay, next question. What are we going to do? Are we going to attend college there or try to get a job or what?" Erika asked.

"Well, luckily, we'll be arriving just before their college starts again. The only bad thing is that's probably where my former friends are going to college."

"Hmm…we're going to have to go shopping tomorrow then. We're just going to have to arrive in style and floor everyone with how beautiful the new students are!" Linda exclaimed laughing while they made plans for the next couple of days.

Usagi was studying to be a doctor but unlike her former boyfriend, she wanted to be a pediatrician.

Linda was studying to be a forensic scientist and Erika was majoring in design and minoring in modeling.

This was each of their last years unlike the Inner scouts who still had two more years since they didn't skip as many grades. Ami was the only one out of the Inner who was on her last year too.

Darien worked in one of the best hospitals in Tokyo. The generals all owned small businesses. Keith was an undercover detective who took on jobs for people, Nathan had his own small restaurant where he cooked, Zach was a scientist who was trying to make cures for cancer and other illnesses, and finally Jed was the partner of Keith.

After another hour of making plans, Linda and Erika started to make their way out the door.

"Hey, Linda. I just thought of something. Maybe we will find Tranquility there!" Usagi exclaimed.

Linda looked shocked for a minute, but smiled softly. "Yeah, maybe." They then said their goodbyes. When Linda made it back into her room, she took the small picture out from beneath her pillow.

"Oh, Tranquility, I miss you so much." A tear fell from her eye to the picture of Princess Serenity, herself, and a blonde hair boy standing in front of the moon palace.

Back at Rei's temple

Rei sat in front of the fire in a meditative position. Sweat broke out on her forehead at the intense concentration she was maintaining.

"Oh, great fire, please tell me about the new enemy." Hours passed and as she meditated, the rest of the group gathered behind her.

Darien and the rest of the scouts were eager to know what the new enemy was like. After what seemed like forever, a picture appeared before them. They all sat dismayed at the image.

Princess Serenity was in a middle of a large group of people. Some they recognized, like the Outers, but the others they had trouble placing.

They watched in horror as the princess' guardians were taken down and she was left defenseless.

Then two women, one with long, pink hair with red eyes and the other with light green hair and dark green eyes, stood in front of her and threw a large energy ball that she couldn't possibly dodge at her. Then the image disappeared.

Everyone looked at each other, chilled to the core.

"If that image is the true future, Serena is in serious danger."


	3. Memories Restored At Last

Thanks everyone for the reviews. I know that the attacks aren't the same, but I decided to change them. Remember, I do not own Sailor Moon only Sailor Star and Sailor Sun.

**Chapter 3: Memories Restored At Last**

Usagi bolted straight up in her bed, placing a hand to her sweaty forehead as if to rid herself of the remnants of the nightmare. "What a nightmare." She softly exclaimed to herself. The shrill ringing of the telephone startled her once again. "Hello?" Even to her own ears, her voice sounded frightened.

"Hi, Usagi!" Usagi sighed with relief, recognizing Molly's voice. "Hi, to you too. What's going on?" "Guess what? Seth proposed last night!" Molly was dating a guy named Seth for about two years and Usagi had been expecting them to be married already by now. Catching on with Molly's happiness, Usagi laughed and congratulated her. "Usagi, you have to come to my wedding! I can't have my wedding with out my best friend there." Usagi smiled and made an apologetic sound. "Sorry, Molly, but you know how it is." Continuing on before Molly could say anything; she made an apology and got off the phone with her.

Last night they had arrived at Tokyo once again. Usagi just couldn't seem to catch up with everyone's excitement at finally being back. That night, Usagi was plagued with endless nightmares of her death. Looking into the mirror, Usagi made the promise to be happy today, no matter what.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Usagi called walking down the hallway thirty minutes later. She had just gotten through getting dressed and was feeling refreshed. Peeking into Linda's room, she found a note on the bed informing her that she and Erika had went to do research on the scouts and Darien. "Okay, thanks for inviting me guys." Usagi mumbled and continued on to search her other friends' rooms. Amoura, Michelle, Hotaru, and Trista were reuniting with old friends and Luna and Artemis along with the generals were finalizing the building plans.

Feeling a little left out, Usagi grabbed her keys and headed out the door. Not realizing where she was going, she drove around her old neighborhood and ended up at Molly's house. "I wonder if Molly still lives here." Usagi wondered out loud. Walking up to the door, she knocked timidly hoping some psycho killer didn't answer.

"May I help you?" Molly's voice asked as she opened the door. Looking up, she stared right into Usagi's eyes. Usagi watched slowly as recognition began to appear in her eyes and then smiled. "USAGI! Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're here!" Molly began to hug her, almost suffocating her in the process. "Molly, Molly, I can't breathe. Molly!" Molly released, muttering an apology as they both started laughing. "I can't believe how much you have changed!" Molly said ushering her in the house.

Usagi stood still as Molly scrutinized her. "You're skinnier and I didn't even think that was possible." She rubbed her chin and looked at her some more. "I love the hair; the silver-blonde does you good." The serious look faded away and a smile broke out on her face. "I'm just so happy you're here!" She hugged her again as they sat down on the couch. "Wow, Molly, you've changed too. You finally let your hair grow out." "Yeah, I got tired of being the only one of the bunch with short hair and plus, Seth likes it long." Molly reasoned, fingering a lock of red curls.

Two hours later, the duo made it back to Usagi's mansion still chattering merrily. "So, Molly, how has the search gone?" The week before Usagi left for New York, her parents had finally informed her of the secret they had kept from her. They had adopted Usagi after being told that they couldn't have children. Then a few years later, miraculously, Sammy was born. They had also told her that the papers from the adoption agency said that she had a twin brother somewhere out there that was adopted before her.

Molly was helping Usagi search for him ever since, helping Usagi keep it a secret also. For some reason, she just couldn't bring herself to tell the scouts at the time and now she's glad she kept it secret. "Molly, remember I told you about the sailor scouts after I left? How's that been? Have there been any attacks?" Listening to a gut feeling, Usagi had finally confided in Molly about her second identity. Molly had actually taken the news well.

Molly stopped to look at Usagi's mansion, studying the iron gate and other features. "No, nothing that I have heard of. Things have been pretty quiet." Usagi nodded, and put in her password. Continuing on, they headed in waiting for the others to show up.

After the scare yesterday with the vision of Serena's life in danger, the scouts were having another meeting. "Okay, we now know that something terrible might happen to Serena soon. The only question I have is why we weren't there in the vision?" Rei asked the scouts, mainly looking at Ami. Ami began to speak, but halted as a portal began to appear behind Rei. Pluto and the rest of the Outers stepped out of the portal looking at the surprised faces of the scouts. "What you have seen is a vision from the future. Ever since the day Princess Serenity fled, there has been no clear future. Even I do not know whether or not this will come to pass, but I do know one thing, we must do everything we can to make sure this does not happen."

Looking at each scout, Michelle gave each one an application. "What are these for?" Ami asked. "As we are speaking, a new building called the Silver Moonlight Castle is being built. Each one of you will fill out an application for a different business there." Michelle said softly. "Why should we? Is Serena there?" Mina questioned hopefully. "No, but we have been told that this building will play a vital part in the future." Trista said knowingly.

Darien looked at each of the Outer scouts, finally making his presence known. "Where is Serena?" He demanded quietly. "That is no concern of yours, Prince." Amoura said challenging him silently. Rei watched the exchange and then cried out in anger, "Why should we care if Meatball head gets hurt or not? She's the one who ran away!" "Shut up! You have no idea what she's been through!" Amoura exclaimed, quickly jumping to her Princess' defense. Michelle put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

Michelle frowned at them and took out her Neptune mirror. "I'll show you what really happened that day you betrayed your princess." Everyone crowded around to watch as that day's events played out, but with Sailor Moon as the main character. After watching the two youmas attack Sailor Moon and injure her, then watching as she continued to try to make it on time to help them, they felt like fools. "I never even noticed she was hurt." Mina exclaimed dejectedly. "Don't feel too bad, we all were blind that day." Lita reassured her.

"Now you know the truth. I am not giving you the chance to make up or hurt her even more. You were her friends, her guardians, and you hurt her more than she should ever be hurt. Now, she has new protectors that will not even think of causing her pain." Trista said. As she finished her statement, two shadows detached themselves from the wall behind her. They were both dressed as sailor scouts and froze them with their hostile stares.

One of the girls had long, brown hair with golden highlights and bright violet eyes. In her ears were a star and a moon. The skirt she wore was yellow with silver tips. Her top was cut off at midriff to show off her pierced belly button and had a silver stripe collar. The broach in the middle of a silver bow on her top was a star with moons facing every direction surrounding it. Her choker was yellow with a white star and moon overlapping in the middle. Her shoes were boots that were gold and knee high. "I'm Sailor Stars and Serenity is our friend. We will not permit you to hurt her again."

The other scout had short, brownish-blonde hair with hazel eyes. She had on copper boots like Jupiter's that laced up her leg like ballet shoes. Her skirt was copper with silver tips and her top was the same as her friends except it had a copper collar with orange stripes. Her bow was silver and in the middle had a copper broach with the sun and Mars sign overlapping on it. The choker she wore was copper and still had the sun and Mars sign in the middle. "I'm Sailor Sun; we are the new protectors of Serenity and will guard her with our lives."

"Are we supposed to be scared of you?" Lita sarcastically asked. "Watch your tongue, Jupiter. You may not remember me, but I still remember you. And frankly, I'm ten times more powerful than you'll ever be." Sailor Sun warned her. "Why you! How dare you speak to us like that!" Rei yelled. "Do you wish to challenge me, Mars?" Sailor Sun asked. "Do you want to see how much more powerful my fire is?" She continued threateningly. Rei stepped up close to her. "Yeah, I think I do." Pulling out her transformation pen, she transformed into Sailor Mars. "Let's take this outside." Sailor Sun commented and walked outside.

"Do you think this is alright?" Ami asked the others as Sailor Mars walked to follow Sailor Sun. "Sailor Sun will have her down on the ground in less than a minute. Mars needs to be taught a humility lesson anyways." Amoura said and followed the two. Everyone else just shrugged and walked outside to watch what was going to happen.

Sun and Mars faced each other; both had grim expressions on their faces. "You were the one who hurt the princess the most and I've wanted to repay you for that for a while now." Sun said with a small smile. "Bring it on. My internal fire will burn your sorry imitation away." Mars threatened snidely. Without warning, Sun began to glow a bright yellow color. Her tiara vanished to only display her Sun insignia and as the light grew brighter, mostly everyone had to turn away.

"Do you still think you can handle me, little Mars?" Sun commented. "Grr..." Mars had her arm up covering her eyes, as she started to call upon her Mar's powers. She started to glow light red, but still the light shining from Sailor Sun continued to grow brighter. "I am Sailor Sun. My light will never grow dim because the light of the Sun is almighty!" With those words she called upon her attack. "Sun Eternal Light!" Five small balls of light fell from the sky towards Mars and knocked her to her feet. The light died down as smoke gathered from the crater Mars laid in. "Mars!" The other three Inner scouts cried, racing towards her.

"Do you think you over did it a little bit, Sun?" Stars asked hesitantly. "No. That wasn't even enough to atone for their sins." Sun said in a stone voice. They all watched as Mars tried to get up by herself, but had to be helped by her friends. As she tried to walk, she retransformed back into Rei and looked bruised and tired. "You'll pay for that!" Lita threatened, but Rei cried out for her to stop. "She's too strong, Lita." Rei looked at her and then just stayed silent. "Do not feel too pathetic, Sailor Mars. You still do not have your memories back from the Silver Millennium."

Everyone looked at her with a questioning glance. "Is there a way for us to remember our past lives?" Ami questioned inquisitively. "Of course, in fact, I can give you them back. On one condition, though." Sailor Stars glanced at each to make sure they were paying close attention. "In return for my services, you must promise to stay away from the princess until she is ready to talk."

"You can't possibly expect us to accept that offer, do you?" Darien asked. "Of course, I'm just choosing what's in the best interest of my princess." Stars answered readily. "Unless of course, you'd rather not remember." She ended with a questioning tone. Each of the scouts looked at each other and then seemed to communicate an answer. "We'll do it." Mina spoke up with authority in her voice.

"I must warn you, though; I will only restore some of your memories. If I restore all of them, the shock of your death in the Silver Millennium will destroy you." Stars warned them in advance. After everyone nodded in understanding, she looked at the others and warned them to close their eyes. Only Sun kept hers open, since she knew no light could hurt her eyes. Opening up a small pouch, Sailor Star sprinkled a little star dust on each scouts and Darien's head. As the dust fell on them, their planet signal appeared on their foreheads, shining brightly. "Now, listen to my voice and follow my instructions carefully. Look at the light in front of you, walk through it and search for a door." Each person had their eyes closed and were looking for the door inside their minds. "Now after you find the door, open it. Inside are several other doors. Do not open all of them, just the one that has your planet signal and the number 5. Open that door and embrace the whispers of the past."

All of a sudden, each one of them collapsed on the ground as their planet signal grew bright on their foreheads. A little sweat trickled down Star's face as the strain from using her psychic powers used most of her energy. She wavered a little and as the last person finally recovered their memories, she fell with Sun rushing forward to catch her. Slowly, each scout and Darien recovered, setting up shakily.

As they all slowly opened their eyes, they seemed to be older and wiser. "I remember you two, I never met you in person but I heard about you." Darien said looking at Sailor Sun and Sailor Star. "Princess Lindakia of the Star and Moon Kingdoms and Princess Erieka from the Sun and Mars Kingdoms." They both smiled a little. Sailor Sun spoke, though her voice sounded far away. "I was the Princess of the Sun and Mars Kingdoms. I married your brother, Sailor Mars." Rei nodded and then thought hard. "I remember, we fought the first time I found out that you were taking him away from me too. But after seeing how happy he was, I couldn't be mad at you for long."

Sailor Stars spoke up and said in a sad voice, "I was the Princess of the Star and Moon Kingdoms. I was married to Princess Serenity's twin brother before Beryl came and stole my happiness away from me." Getting up from her sitting position, she hastily walked out of the room. Before leaving she said, "I meant what I said. I will not permit you to hurt the Princess any more." Then she disappeared. Sailor Sun stood up to follow her. "You may have your memories back now, but remember this is the present. Take the applications and fill them out. Princess Serenity is our life and this time, we need all the help we can get in protecting her." Then she too disappeared.

"Now for the other matter at hand. Do you remember Prince Darien's generals?" Trista inquired. "Yes, they were Queen Beryl's lackies who tried to kill us." Ami said knowingly since she was one of the first sailor scouts to be reawakened at that time. "What if I told you that you never even encountered the real generals in this life?" Trista asked. "What do you mean? I only remember some of my memories, but I do know that they betrayed us and joined the Nega Verse in the Silver Millennium." Said Mina curiously. "Yes it would seem like that was the case, but everything was a trick set forth by Queen Beryl. In order to get past the gates that you four were guarding, she needed someone you would trust." Trista continued.

"Do you remember the day the Moon Kingdom fell?" They nodded and Lita spoke. "Yes, we were guarding the gate, waiting for the enemy troops to appear. But to our surprise, Prince Darien's generals appeared." She stopped and Ami continued on for her. "We had thought that they were protecting Earth and Prince Darien." "Each of us was in love with one of the generals, which was quiet fitting since the people we were guarding were in love their selves." Mina said dreamily. "But then they betrayed us and killed each of us when our guard was down. Then they opened the gates and let the Nega Verse in to wreak havoc on our home." Rei spat out.

Each of them reminisced to that fateful day that their whole world fell apart. The Nega Verse had formed an army what seemed like out of no where and was trying to conquer the galaxy. The Outer scouts were the first to fall as they tried to stop the enemy from entering the solar system. Next came that Star Kingdom, in it the King and Queen combined their powers to take out a quarter of the Nega Verse's troops. Before anyone else could send reinforcement, the Nega Verse continued on to the Sun Kingdom. Unfortunately the King was gone to help Mars defend their selves and the Queen had to hold off the attack herself. In the end, she lost control of her power and perished when it climaxed when she felt the death of her husband. Then fate continued on as the generals led the troops into the Moon Kingdom after killing the Inner scouts and Queen Serenity died when sending everyone to the future.

Trista nodded, "Like I said, that would appear to be the case, but in all actuality, they weren't your lovers." Each gave her a questioning look, so she explained it further. "The generals were captured by Queen Beryl's army and given the choice to either help them out or die. Queen Beryl even tried to force them to do her bidding, but before she could get a hold on them, they all committed suicide." Michelle paraphrased it for her. "They chose to die than even think about hurting the people they loved. Their hearts wouldn't let them hurt you." Still confusion reigned on their faces. "Then who were the men who killed us?" Rei asked. "Queen Beryl still needed the generals to gain access to the kingdom. So she had them cloned. That's who murdered you and that's who you met in this life." Trista finished.

"It's your fault anyways. You all shared links with the generals, you should have not let yourself get distracted by their appearance and let your guard down." Amoura chastised. "Well excuse me for being human!" Rei retorted. "Stop it, both of you. What's done is done. Now, we need the hand out the new communicators." Michelle rebuked. Hotaru took out a bag and grasped five communicators out of it. Handing each one to the occupants of the room, Trista explained the colors. "Each of you will retain your original color and in case of confusion, each color will have the sailor scouts insignia in the middle of it. In addition, Darien your color will be black. Sailor Neptune's is light blue, Uranus' is navy blue, Saturn's is purple and mine is dark green. The last three buttons are emergency's only and when you need backup. The copper one is Sailor Sun's and the gold one is Sailor Stars." "What about the grey one?" Ami asked. "The grey one is for the reincarnated generals." Everyone gasped at the news.

"What do you mean the reincarnated generals?" Lita exclaimed. "We have met up with the generals of this life. They are also the new protectors of Serenity. Do not worry; you will meet up with them soon." Trista concluded. Just then the communicators beeped and Sailor Sun's face appeared. "Bad news, everyone. There are four nasty youma in the park. They feel different this time, we might need backup." With that said, the screen went blank. "Hurry and transform. We'll meet you there." Then the Outers left. "Let's go, guys!" Mina said.

Back at the mansion, Usagi and Molly were beginning to worry as the day progressed and there still wasn't any sign of Usagi's friends. "Are you sure they know you were going to be here?" Molly asked for the third time. "Of course, Molly. They live here too you know." Hearing a beeping sound, Usagi took out her communicator. "Usagi, you have to get here fast. There are four youma at the park, but I have a feeling its going to get a lot worse!" Then there was a scream and Sailor Sun's face disappeared.

"Oh no, what does that mean, Usagi?" Molly asked concerned. "It means, I have to go. You need to come too." Usagi said. Molly looked at her confused, but Usagi just gave her a reassuring look. When Usagi had her memories restored, she had found out that Molly was a sailor scout too. In fact, she was Sailor Rainbow and ever since then she had been waiting for a chance to allow Sailor Stars to restore her memories.

"Molly, there is something I have to tell you. You're a sailor scout too. All you have to say is Rainbow Elemental Magic." Usagi said giving her a pin that had a rainbow on top. "Molly, trust me." Usagi said reassuringly. Holding up the pin, Molly said the words and transformed.

She wore a white skirt with blue tips and a white body suit. Her shoulder blades fabric was the clear kind like Super Sailor Moon and her bow was green with a pink broach in the middle. Her choker was pink with a rainbow in the middle and her jewel in her tiara constantly changed from all the colors of the rainbow. The shoes she wore were the same as Sailor Venus' except pink.

"Wow, you look great, Molly. Okay, I better transform too." Holding up her hand, she exclaimed, "Cosmos Moon Power!" When she was done, she had on a pure white skirt with a see through white fabric around her waist over the usual white body suit. There was a white bow with a new broach in the middle over her bust that had two moons in the middle with jewels of all the scouts' colors around it. Her boots were the same as in the Sailor Moon form but were white. In addition, she had on a pure white cape and when willed, wings.

"I'm Sailor Cosmos in this form. If I had transformed into Sailor Moon, the scouts would have recognized me. I'll have Sailor Stars restore your memories at the battle if there is time." Sailor Cosmos informed her. Using her thoughts, she called out to her generals mentally. 'Generals, battle at the park. Get over there pronto!' Making sure each agreed, she transported Sailor Rainbow and herself to the scene of battle.

"Star Stellar Beam!" A huge beam with the velocity of the speed of light hit one of the four youmas surrounding Sailor Stars and Sun. "Sun Eternal Light!" Four beams hit the next youma. "Uranus World Shaking!" "Neptune Deep Submerge!" "Saturn Destruction Hole!" As the attacks hit the other two youma, the duo knew help had arrived. When the dust cleared, they were relieved to find out that the youma were gone. "Thanks, guys. We needed the help." Sailor Stars thanked. "Wait, what's that?" Sailor Sun said pointing at the black hole appearing. Watching with wide eyes, they saw an endless amount of youma pouring out of the black hole. "Hurry, Saturn. Try to close the hole before more youma get out!" Uranus commanded. "Come on, we have to make sure none of those monsters get out of this park!" Uranus commanded the rest of them.

Running after Saturn, the small group tried to hold off the youma. After a couple of minutes, the Inner scouts and Tuxedo Mask appeared and joined the fight. Sailor Saturn continuously tried to close the portal, but to no avail. She was still young and her powers hadn't grown to that level yet. Sailor Pluto even tried to help, but to no luck. Finally, when all hope appeared to be gone, the attack came that each of them had been waiting for.

"Moon Light Ascend!" The blinding light stopped the flow of youma and some even went back into the portal. As the light continued to shine, the portal slowly began to close. When the light died, the portal was gone and only a handful of youma had stayed. "Don't just stand there! Get the other youma!" Sailor Cosmos cried out as she, Sailor Rainbow, and four masked men began fighting. Sailor Cosmos stayed by Sailor Rainbow's side, helping her get used to her new powers. "Neptune Water Titans!" "Uranus Sky Attack!" Teaming up, Uranus and Neptune took a youma down and continued to combine their attacks to finish the monsters, one by one.

"Star Stellar Beam!" "Solar Heat Wave!" Mimicking the two Outer scouts, they combined their powers to take out a couple. The Inner scouts had formed a circle and were all combining their powers to destroy their enemies. The four masked men went to join their struggle and helped them out.

"Damn, how many more are there?" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed, calling out another attack. "Watch out, Mercury!" Mars cried out, powerless to stop the youma coming up behind her since she was already dealing with another. They had just got separated when a youma came crashing down on them. Mercury looked behind her just as the youma's strike was about to hit her. Blinking, she realized she was saved and in the hands of a caped guy like Tuxedo Mask. Setting her down, the guy turned back to the monster and took out a sword. In one slice, the youma was destroyed. The other scouts glanced up as men dressed the same as the other guy jumped to each of their sides.

"We are the Masked Knights and we will fight by your sides." The one in red said. There were four total, each clad in the different colors of red, blue, green, and yellow. "We need all the help we can get!" Jupiter said thanking them. Then they all teamed up to try to put an end to the monsters. "Mars Fireball Destruction!" "Mercury Ice Blast!" "Jupiter Lightening Electrify!" "Venus Love Heartache!"

Finally, Sailor Cosmos and Sailor Rainbow managed to make their way towards Sailor Sun and Star. "Hey, Star, restore Sailor Rainbow's memory when you get a second!" Cosmos said grinning. Star wiped the sweat from her face and grinned back. "Yeah, just let me tell the big, scary youma here to stay still for a moment." She replied sarcastically. "Okay, do you want me to tell him for you?" Cosmos asked, still grinning. "Be my guest." Star stepped back and let Cosmos destroy the youma. "Here, I'll use my shield to protect you while you do. Rainbow needs her memories if she wants any chance of knowing her powers." They nodded and stood back while Cosmos called her defense spell. "Cosmos Defense Shield!" A silver globe fell upon the duo while Star restored Rainbow's memory. Sun and Cosmos continued to fight the youma and was eventually joined by the Outers, Inners, Masked Knights, and Tuxedo Mask. Finally there were only two youma left. By this time Sailor Rainbow had her memory restored and was exhausted from trying out her new attacks. "Stand back, I'll handle these two." Cosmos told the others, sensing how tired they were. No one had any qualms about it, not even Mars had a retort.

"Don't wear yourself out." Star warned. Cosmos nodded and stepped to face the two youma. "Ha, ha, ha. You think that you can handle us by yourself, little girl?" The lizard like youma asked haughtily. "Oh, I'm so scared. Does the little lizard, think it's big and bad?" Cosmos taunted it. "Why, I'll get you for making fun of me!" It lashed out with razor nails at her, but she just flipped over its back and landed behind it. "I'm right here." She said laughing. Growing frustrated, the other youma who looked like a big bear tried to help its partner, but their attempts were futile. When she couldn't jump out of the way, Cosmos just used her shield and laughed at their attempts to break it.

Finally Star cried out for her to hurry so they could go home. Cosmos complied and yelled out her attack, "Moon Protector Waning Light!" A big impression of a moon formed by a solid light hit the two youma destroying them instantly. Those who didn't know her gasped at the magnitude of her power. "If you're impressed by that, then you don't know anything. That was one of her weak attacks." Uranus informed them laughing at their expressions. "Who is she?" Mars asked awed. "She was Princess Serenity's personal body guard. She only appears once every thousand years when the world's future is at stake." Pluto told them.

"Um, those applications you gave us? What are we supposed to apply for?" Mercury asked. "We'll help you with those." The man in the blue tuxedo said. "Huh? How would you know what to do with them?" Mercury asked him. The man gave the other three a look and within a second, the generals stood in their place. The Inners looked stunned and a little taken back. "We've been fighting along your sides the entire time?" Mars asked ashamed. "I didn't even realize it." Venus said. "We're not the same people who betrayed you in the past." Keith said reassuringly. "We know, Pluto told us." Jupiter said. "Then it's settled. We'll meet at my place tomorrow at 3 p.m. to go over the applications." Darien said. Since the departure of Serena, he bought himself a new house to try to rid his self of the memories of her.

Looking around, Sailor Sun hesitantly asked, "Guys, where's Cosmos?" Searching, no one could find her. "She must have went back home. Let's call it a night." Jed commented and they all said their good-byes. The generals went ahead and walked the scouts home, still wanting to spend a little bit more time with them. Darien had already disappeared, so everyone else just walked together to get back to Usagi's mansion.

From the shadows of a tree, Usagi watched with tears in her eyes at the merrily exchange of the group. They acted like they had been friends for a while now. She knew it was foolish, but she just couldn't help but feel hurt. 'Mother, I need your guidance now more than ever.' She thought while looking up at the moon.

A few leaves rustled above her and she looked up to see Linda looking down at her. "I'm sorry, Usagi." She said after a few minutes of silence. Usagi just sighed and wiped her tears away. "I know I shouldn't be angry at them. They are their past loves and friends. It's just that being here has reopened all those old wounds from when I first left." Usagi replied softly. After a couple more minutes, Linda jumped down and stretched a hand up to Usagi. "Come on; let's go home before Luna throws a fit." Smiling, Usagi jumped down and they both walked the dark path home.


	4. Tragedy's Love Song

Same old, same old. I do not own Sailor Moon.

Recap of last chapter: "I know I shouldn't be angry at them. They are their past loves and friends. It's just that being here has reopened all those old wounds from when I first left." Usagi replied softly. After a couple more minutes, Linda jumped down and stretched a hand up to Usagi. "Come on; let's go home before Luna throws a fit." Smiling, Usagi jumped down and they both walked the dark path home.

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"Usagi, are you sure that you're alright?" Linda and Usagi had been walking for the past few minutes in complete silence. Linda had tried to start some small talk, but Usagi just muttered one word answers. Finally, Linda was at her wits end. Just as she was about to speak again, Usagi opened her mouth. "Linda, I'm not trying to be rude, but could you please go on without me? I think I'm going to sit here for a little while." They stopped under a street light and Linda gazed at Usagi solemnly, as if trying to read her thoughts. "Alright, just be safe and call me if you need help." Without even waiting for an answer, Linda sprinted ahead and was soon swallowed by the darkness.

Usagi walked over to a bench that was calling out to her. The bench used to be the one Darien and she called theirs. Wisps of memories taunted her, mixing with the sight of her friends and the Inners getting along so nicely. Even though she understood why the generals wanted to forgive their past loves and mend what happened in the past, it still hurt. She knew she shouldn't feel betrayed, but after everything that happened, she still couldn't find it in her heart to forgive them. Sweet, forgiving Serena was dead and Usagi stood in her place with her heart still angry with betrayal. Her mother would turn over in her grave if she could her darling Serenity now.

A gentle breeze froze the tears starting to trail down Usagi's face. She hadn't even realized that she was crying. Suddenly, she couldn't stand sitting on the bench that was once hers and Darien's. Blindly, she started to run as fast as her tired legs would carry her. Coming to an intersection, she confusedly began to cross the road. Alarmingly, a bright light blinded her and then she was hit hard on the side. Breathless, Usagi landed with a thud on the ground. "Oww…what ran me over?" Usagi thought aloud. "Miss, are you alright?" The voice sounded masculine and vaguely familiar. Some where during the crash, Usagi had closed her eyes. Opening them, she was greeted with blonde hair and concerned green eyes. "Why did you hit me?" Usagi asked, still in a daze. "Miss, you were about to be run over by that car! Did you not even realize that it was coming?" Usagi gazed at him and then it clicked. The bright light that she had seen was from a car coming down the street. She had almost died from her stupidity.

If not for his green eyes gazing at her with such warmth and tranquility, she would have started to hyperventilate. "Thank you so much for saving me." Usagi said gratefully. Her savior stood up and held a hand out to her. Grasping it, Usagi pulled herself up and brushed off her clothes. Except for a small scrape on her arm, she was fine. Glancing over at her hero, she looked him over. He was about a few inches taller than her, which was short for a guy. He was pretty muscular for his lean body, so that was why she felt like she had been hit by the car after all. "Hello, my name is Travis McDaniel. What's yours?" Once again, she was hit by déjà vu. "I'm Usagi Moon. Once again, thank you for saving me." He smiled and she could have sworn that it got a little bit brighter. Now she wished that she had brushed her teeth more often.

"Do you want to go and get some coffee? I know it's late and if you have somewhere you need to be, I understand. I just wanted to know a little bit more and the damsel in distress I just rescued." Once again, he smiled and she felt compelled to return it. Usagi knew that Luna would go crazy if she found out that she went somewhere with a strange man she just met, but something about him made her feel safe. "Sure, I would love to have coffee with you. In fact, I meant to visit an old place I used to love to go to as a teenager." "Fine by me, just lead the way." As they walked, they shared basic information like parents' names and what they did in life. Usagi found out that Travis lived with his guardian, Jake. His parents had died when he was twelve. He didn't say how they died, but Usagi had the feeling that it was a touchy issue so she didn't press. Usagi told him about how she lived with Luna and Artemis who owned their own building.

After a couple of minutes, they finally approached their destination. To Usagi's disappointment, in place of the Crown Arcade was the Rose Café. Travis, sensing Usagi's disappointment, bought her a cappuccino and some chocolate doughnuts. They occupied one of the booths in the back, Usagi quietly munching on her food and Travis sipping his latte. "So, Travis, what do you do for a living? Do you go to school?" Travis, a little surprised, answered. "Well, I'm starting my last year in the university and am majoring in Biology. I'm going to do work in the research field. What are you currently doing?" Usagi finished chewing her doughnut and wiped the crumbs away. "Surprisingly, I'm in my last year in the university too and am planning to become a doctor." Travis grinned and stated the fact that they were going to be seeing each other a lot more often. After a few more minutes of small talk, Usagi happened to glance at the clock. Gasping, she muttered, "I'm sorry, Travis. I'm having a wonderful time, but I have to get back home before the others worry." Travis, a little bit disappointed that their time was going to end, offered to walk her home.

Usagi glanced at Travis frequently on their way to her mansion. She just couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that she knew him from somewhere. Travis wasn't having that much of a good time either, enduring the same tiring feeling of déjà vu. "Usagi, have you ever had déjà vu?" Usagi's eyes widened a bit. "I'm having that right now." Travis stopped and looked her in the eyes, "Do I know you from somewhere?" Usagi gazed into his green eyes and tried in vain to remember him from somewhere. "If I did, I would surely remember you, right?" Shaking their heads at the same time, they both just muttered and continued on their way.

At the mansion, everyone was starting to worry. They had thought that Usagi had already made it back, but she was still missing. Not only was she gone, but there was no sign of Linda either. "Do you think that we should go out and look for them?" Keith questioned the tense room. "We should wait before taking any action. They are tough girls and can take care of themselves." Amara said. "But should we really take any chances with the new enemy still out there?" Zach asked, always the brains of the group. "Well, the enemy has never attacked twice in the same night." Keith stated with a shrug. Everyone looked at Trista expectantly. "I'm sorry, but I haven't been able to see the future for a while now. The gates of time are closed to me." She said apologetically.

Hotaru stood up suddenly. "Guys, I have a bad feeling. I smell the stench of impending death." Gasping, Nathan stated quietly, "I'm going to try to contact my sister and Usagi to make sure that they're alright." Closing his eyes, he concentrated on Linda. It was like trying to talk to a brick wall, there was no reply. "I can't contact Linda; I'm going to try Usagi instead." This time he concentrated on his princess.

Usagi laughed as Travis told her a funny, childhood story about him being pushed into a pond by a little girl. 'USAGI.' Pausing, she glanced around. She thought she heard someone calling her name. She heard it again and then realized it was Nathan contacting her telepathically. 'What's wrong, Nathan?' Usagi asked mentally. 'Are you alright? I can't get in touch with Linda.' Nathan sounded worried even though he was talking to her with his thoughts. 'I'm fine. I'll try to contact Linda.' Looking at Travis, she realized that she had been quiet for a while. "Sorry, Travis. Hang with me for another minute, will you?" Taking his nod for an answer, she closed her eyes and focused on Linda. Startled, she stumbled a bit. Linda's aura was in a state of disarray. 'Linda?' Usagi probed once again when she didn't receive a reply. Then to Usagi's shock, Linda's aura turned black. "No." Usagi whispered, opening her eyes. Gasping, she searched hastily around her. Turning in circles, she concentrated. "Linda!" Usagi screamed and a white light burst from her. Travis watched on in awe as another light answered in the distance. Without, even saying good-bye, Usagi took off in the direction of it. Travis watched as she disappeared and before he pursued her, he whispered. "Now, I remember you."

Everyone waited expectantly, looking at Nathan. Finally, he opened his eyes and gazed solemnly at them. "Usagi just informed me that Linda's aura has turned black." Luna asked questioningly, "What does that mean?" Hotaru's small voice answered, "It means that death has marked his next victim."

Linda's vision was hazy and clouded by the blood dripping from her head wound. She had left Usagi at her wish and started to jog towards the direction of the mansion they were staying at. When she didn't see it, she realized that she has somehow gotten lost. Reluctantly, she was about to call Nathan for directions, when she spotted a man walking towards her. Curiously, she waited on calling Nathan, and opted to ask the man for directions. But as he got closer, she started to receive negative vibes from him. Going with gut instinct, she started to run to her right. She didn't want to lead the man to where she left Usagi, so she didn't dare go back the way she had come. Along the way, she tried to find some place to transform, but the man kept being just a few seconds behind her. She couldn't even form a coherent thought or enough concentration to even try to mentally contact someone for help. Finally, she made it to the park. Running blindly, she stopped only seconds before colliding with the youma before her.

"Oh no." Breathing heavily, she couldn't form the words to call out for her transformation. Evil laughter filled her ears and then her back erupted into a fiery pain. Falling to her knees, she barely was able to recover and roll to the left to avoid another incoming attack. As if sensing her weakness, the youma swooped down on her like owl on a mouse. For the next few minutes, she was left fighting for her life. Luckily, Nathan had thought to try to teach her a few karate lessons for self-defense. As time passed, she grew frustrated and tired. Each time, she tried to call for help; it was like she was meeting a wall. For the first time, she was on her own. Finally, she met her limit as another youma came up behind her and secured her arms. A really ugly looking youma with cat ears and eyes smirked at her and punched her in the stomach, ripping his claws into her skin. Grinding her teeth, Linda refused to cry out and give her enemy the satisfaction of causing her pain. As the blood dripped in her eyes, she heard the man from earlier taunt her. "Give up your rainbow jewel and we'll allow you to live."

Linda spat at him as he approached her. "I'd rather die than give you anything you need." Her mind was still trying to wrap around the part about the rainbow jewel, but she was still defiant as ever. Laughing, he entered into the light and allowed her a better look at him. He resembled the Wise Man and was wearing a cloak of black that covered his head and body. "Sweet, you'll give me anything I ask of you." Lifting his head, red eyes captured Linda's. Her breathing started to speed up and she felt like she was having a heart attack. The world spun before her as his eyes grew brighter and more sinister. "LINDA! MOON LIGHT ASCEND!" The blinding light lit the scene and when it disappeared, the youma holding Linda captured had vanished along with a few others. Linda collapsed the spell breaking. The man in the cloak growled and pulled her up by clutching her neck. Weakly, Linda tried to fight it, but the man just squeezed her neck, cutting off the airflow. Forcing Linda to glance into his eyes, he resumed the spell.

"Leave her alone!" Sailor Cosmos screamed and aimed another attack at the man. To her surprise, it bounced off a shield. "Kill her." The man commanded of the remaining youma. "No, Linda!" Sailor Cosmos ran towards her, but was stopped by the youma. Frustrated, she called out one of her strongest attacks. "Cosmos Universe Wand Inferno!" The youma disappeared, but soon they were replaced by more.

Linda could feel a strange tearing sensation, like something was being ripped out of her. She could hear Sailor Cosmos' attacks being called out, but couldn't talk to her. The man's red eyes glowed brighter than it was and then finally faded, then Linda knew no more. The man dropped Linda's lifeless body as a jewel of many colors appeared. It was shaped as a star and shone brightly. Just as the man reached out for it, a yellow rose struck his hand. "WHAT?" He screamed in anger as a man in an orange suit and cape grasped the jewel and jumped away with Linda in his arms. "Get him!" The man yelled, but it was too late. Sailor Cosmos had destroyed all of the youma. She was beyond angry and that anger made her power stronger. Seeing the losing situation, the man warned, "I'll be back for the rainbow jewel and I will kill all of you when I do." Then he turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Sailor Cosmos ran towards the duo and rushed to Linda's side. "No, no…Linda, are you alright? Please speak to me." Linda was pale and blood seemed to coat her body. The man in the orange suit had tried to staunch the wound on her stomach, but blood still gushed forth. Linda's violet eyes stared unseeingly at Sailor Cosmos. Cosmos glanced at the man and accusing asked, "Who are you?" Green eyes glanced at her as he took off his mask. "Travis?" Sailor Cosmos questioned. "Don't you remember me, Sere?" He asked. Recognition dawned in her eyes and a small smile broke forth. "Tranquility, brother, I finally found you." Travis returned the smile, but then he glanced down at Linda. One of his gloved hands caressed her face lovingly. "I'm sorry, Travis, but we need to find out what that creep did to her." Cosmos informed him. Revealing the rainbow jewel in his hand, Travis showed it to her. "He removed this from her. Its one of the rainbow jewels." Sailor Cosmos gasped and then looked at him. "What are we supposed to do?"

Before he could answer, the rest of the entourage appeared, looking for a battle. When they saw them, the group ran over to them. Nathan pushed past everyone and rushed to Linda's side. "No, Linda. What happened?" Sailor Cosmos looked at the crowd and brought them up to date. "Sailor Pluto, do you know what we're supposed to do now?" Sailor Pluto shook her head, "When the heart crystals were taken from Sailor Uranus and Neptune, their talismans appeared and the crystals were returned to them. But nothings happening like that this time." Everyone nodded. Sailor Cosmos thought about it for a minute, "Let's try to return it to her and see what happens." Nodding to Travis, he closed his hands around the jewel and held it above Linda. Closing his eyes, he concentrated, but nothing happened.

"Guys, I don't think she's breathing." Keith said. Everyone looked and Linda's chest stayed still. "No!" Sailor Cosmos knelt beside Linda and placed her ear to Linda's chest. She couldn't hear a heartbeat. Recalling her training, she started to do the procedure of CPR. "She can't do that forever. We have to find out how to get this thing back into her." Sailor Sun screamed pleading with anyone to do something. Travis gazed solemnly down at her, worry filling his eyes. Then he did what everyone least expected him to do. He kissed Linda on the lips. Shocked, everyone watched as they were encompassed with light. When it faded, the jewel was gone and Linda was gasping for breath. She glanced up at Travis and then everyone else. "What happened?" Everyone started to laugh and Sailor Cosmos hugged her. "Don't scare me like that ever again!" Cosmos laughed with tears running down her face. Linda just nodded, but then grimaced at her head wound. "Ow…" While Sailor Cosmos examined her, Linda studied the man holding her. 'It couldn't be, could it?' As if sensing her question, Travis nodded.

Tears spilled down her eyes and she smiled. "Tranquillity, I've been waiting for you." "And I you, my sweet Lindakia." Everyone looked on in envy as the two lovers were reunited. "Here, let's get you home, Linda." Cosmos said, hating to break up the moment. As she tried to help Linda up, Linda clutched over in pain. "Ow…my stomach. It feels like it's on fire." She cried and then passed out from the pain. "Oh no" Cosmos cried, examining the wound. Green pus oozed out of it and it was pink from being swelling. "What's wrong, this time?" Nathan asked. "I think she's been poisoned." Cosmos stated grimly.


	5. Antidote

Just as a reminder, this story was originally created in 2001. It's kind of hard to copy someone else's idea if I'm going off the same original storyline from 6 years ago. Besides that point, there are only so many original ideas in today's world that some are bound to show up more than once. Standard disclaimer, I do not own Sailor Moon and co.

Recap from last chapter: Linda clutched over in pain. "Ow…my stomach. It feels like it's on fire." She cried and then passed out from the pain. "Oh no" Cosmos cried, examining the wound. Green pus oozed out of it and it was pink from being swelling. "What's wrong, this time?" Nathan asked. "I think she's been poisoned." Cosmos stated grimly.

Ch. 6: Antidote

With each moan a piece of Travis' heart broke a little more. It wasn't fair that they were reunited this way. As soon as Linda had passed out, Travis had gingerly picked her up and followed Usagi and the group back to their mansion. All night, he held her hand and tried to get her fever down. "Please, love, get better soon. I can't bear to see you in such pain." Tenderly touching her face, he pushed a strand of loose hair off of her sweaty face.

"Travis?" Turning around in the chair he sat on beside Linda's bed, Travis looked at Usagi. "What is it, Sere?" Everything about Travis reeked fatigue, even his voice sounded tired. "Travis, let Luna take care of Linda for a little while. We're about to conduct an emergency meeting. Everyone is coming, even the Inners and Tuxedo Mask."

At first Travis was reluctant to join, knowing that he would find out everything he needed to know anyways. But he could see the pain in his sister's eyes and knew that she needed him too. "Okay, Sere. Where is Luna?" Smiling brightly despite the grime circumstances, Usagi opened the door wider to allow Luna in.

Turning to leave, Usagi stopped as if remembering something. "Oh yeah, um…Travis, can you call me Usagi, please?" Travis looked confused for a moment, but then remembered Usagi's brief explanation of what happened with her guardians and former lover. "Sure, Sere…I mean, Usagi. But won't they recognize you?" Usagi smiled again and shook her head no. "I've performed a simple magic that allows only certain people to recognize me. So to the Inners and Tuxedo Mask, I will just be another stranger." Travis nodded and after a small kiss on Linda's cheek, he followed her to the meeting.

Everyone was already there when they arrived. Travis recognized almost everyone at once as he sat down on the left of Usagi. It seemed like his old memories from the Silver Millennium were already coming back with each face he looked at.

At the opposite end of Usagi, which was the end chair, Darien sat with Rei and Mina on his left and Lita and Ami on his right. Next to Mina were Keith and then Zach; next to Ami were Jed and Nathan. Amara and Michelle sat beside Nathan and Hotaru sat beside Zach. Artemis was seated to Usagi's right, next to Michelle. Erika and Molly leaned against the wall.

Usagi stood up at the end of the table, meeting each person's eyes that were seated before speaking. "Hello everyone. Before we begin, I'm going to clear up a bit of confusion on identifications. My name is Usagi Moon, also known as Sailor Cosmos. I am Princess Serenity's personal bodyguard from the Silver Millennium and will be her stand in until it is safe for her to be here."

Letting that information to soak in and give a chance for anyone to challenge her authority, Usagi continued. "Seated to the left of me is Prince Tranquility, Princess Serenity's twin brother. In this time his name is Travis McDaniel." Travis stood up and bowed to everyone, then sat back down. "Most of you know Molly. Recently, she discovered she is Sailor Rainbow. Now onto business, last night Sailor Stars or Linda was attacked by one of Queen Fireheart's minions. He was trying to steal her rainbow jewel. Luckily, we were able to foil his plan and Travis was able to place Linda's rainbow jewel back in her."

"So this means that Linda has one of the rainbow jewels that our enemy is after?" Mina asked hesitantly. Usagi nodded, "Yes, when it was removed from her, she stopped breathing and would have died if it was not returned." Gasps were heard, "That is not the whole reason for this meeting though. Through Linda's attack, we were able to find out that the youma's claws are poisonous. Now, I believe Amy has the diagnostic of the poison." Usagi sat down and allowed Amy to take the floor. "I was able to scan the blood of Linda and determine that the poison used is special in its creation. The only antidote is not here on the human plane, but in the Dream Land."

At everyone's confusion, Ami clarified. "The Dream Land is a place we all go when we dream. The only difference is that the place where the antidote is found is off limit to all dreamers. Therefore, the only way that we can get there is by a sailor planet teleportation." "Ami, you still haven't told us what the antidote is!" Rei exclaimed. "Oh, yes, well, I really don't know what the antidote is. My computer base only stated that the unicorn called Moon Dancer held the antidote and awarded any body that was able to pass three of her tests to have it."

Nathan banged his fist on the table, startling everyone. "I'm going." He stated quietly. Silence gripped the room until Amara talked. "Nathan, I know that you want Linda to get better. But I think you should let Usagi and Travis go instead. Right now, you're needed here."

Nathan looked up at her shocked and opened his mouth to argue, but stopped short when Usagi held up a hand. "Amaras right, Nathan. I'm positive that the man that hurt Linda before will not leave her alone until he gets her rainbow jewel. I need you to stay here and protect her while we're gone." Defiance still shone in Nathan's eyes, but after a moment he nodded his head in submission.

"Thank you, Nathan." Looking at everyone else, Usagi continued. "Now, in my absence, Erika will be in charge. I expect everyone to concede to her authority and follow her orders." Glaring at everyone and challenging them to disagree, Usagi took a deep breath.

"Now here is what I need you to do in my absence. Generals, I want you to pair up with the Inners and get them set up at the Silver Moonlight Castle. Then each night, I want a different couple on patrol." After a nod, even if it was reluctant, from every one of them, she continued. "Outers, I need you to gather any information you can on our enemy and use what we have learned to devise a way to get the rainbow jewels back into the carriers' body more easily."

"Artemis, I need you to go to Central Command and gather information and there. I will have Luna take care of Linda while everyone else is gone. Erika, I want you to train the Inners and Molly to use their powers to their full extent. We need them at their full potential when we fight Queen Fireheart. Hotaru, you might want to join them too." Hotaru and the others nodded. Raising his voice, Darien asked, "What assignment do you have for me?"

Usagi looked away from him and thought for a moment. Then she said in a quiet voice, "You, Prince Darien, will accompany Travis and me on our journey to the Dream Land. If I'm correct in my assumption, you are friends with Helios and will be a valuable asset in this trip." Travis grasped Usagi's hand and squeezed it. "Are you sure, Usagi?" Trista questioned quietly. "Yes, these are my wishes. We will leave for the Dream plane in one hour. Gather anything you need for this trip." With that said she dismissed everyone and escaped to her room.

Usagi walked quietly into Linda's room and signaled for Luna to leave. Sitting in Luna's spot, Usagi watched Linda struggle for breath. Linda's cheeks were feverishly red and her breath came in short gasps. Rewetting the washcloth on her head, Usagi grasped Linda's hand. "Don't worry, Linda. We'll find the antidote for you and bring it back. Just hang on." A tear slipped down her cheek and she brushed it away.

Hearing the door open, she sensed Travis' presence. "Don't worry about Travis either, I'll protect him. We're leaving in an hour, so I better pack. Goodbye, Linda." Patting her hand, she silently left the room for Travis to say his goodbyes.

Rei glanced beside her at her escort through the mansion. Lita, Ami, and Mina were following behind her with the other three generals. Jed grinned at her accessing stare and grinned even wider when she just scowled at him and tried to walk faster. With ease, Jed matched her stride, infuriating the fiery princess even further. "I hope you know that I have a boyfriend whom I love very dearly." Rei stated quietly after a few moments of silence. Jed looked at her surprised, the smile disappearing slowly from his face.

At his silent response, Rei continued to torture him. "His name is Chad and he's been working at the temple for a while now. He's a great guitar player and loves to create beautiful music with me." Jed smiled sadly at her, "You always had a beautiful voice." Rei felt an ache in her heart, but didn't understand it. She almost felt sorry for him.

"Rei, I'm not here to force you to love me. But I will try my damn hardest to win you back. I will not go down without a fight." Jed's voice was filled with such a fierce determination, making Rei gasp from the sheer intensity of it. For once, she was rendered speechless for the rest of the tour.

Lita, Ami, and Mina were having similar problems with their escorts. At first it seemed like a good idea for the girls to be given a tour of the mansion. After all, they were probably going to visit a lot. But then the hallways got smaller and they were first to walk through them in pairs.

Lita and Nathan were having a great time discussing cooking. Nathan had looked so worried and Lita just couldn't stand any handsome guy to be so sad, so she had started talking about the one thing she knew cheered her up. Surprisingly, Nathan seemed to enjoy it as much as she did. So as they roamed the halls, Nathan and Lita exchanged their own unique recipes, promising to try each at least one of each others.

Keith was having a ball trying lame pick up lanes on Mina. She seemed to be enjoying herself too, catching herself laughing at the really funny ones. Keith was normally a stoic guy who seemed to never smile, but for some reason when he was near Mina, he lightened up and changed into a whole different man.

Ami and Zach's conversation was a bit more on the dark side. They were discussing the upcoming mission and the detail s of Linda's medical condition. Neither one seemed too inclined to take the first step and start a more casual conversation, so they were content to discuss science and medicine.

When the hour was up, everyone met back outside in the back yard. "Is everyone here?" Trista asked, mentally tallying everyone. "Good, let's begin. First, everyone must transform." After a minute of bright lights the sailor scouts, Masked Knights, Prince Darien and Prince Travis stood there. Darien and Travis had opted to transform into their royal attire since they were more powerful in that form. Sailor Pluto looked at everyone and nodded.

"Now, everyone form a circle by joining hands around the three going on the mission." After this was done, Pluto continued, "Now close your eyes and concentrate your powers. This is just like a planetary power teleportation, but instead your only teleporting these three. Now call out your power and channel your energy into me."

Slowly, the lights from each person sped through Pluto and in return she used them to summon a door. When the door formed, everyone collapsed to the ground. "Now, this door leads to the Dream plane. When you get the antidote, the door should reappear and bring you back here. Good luck and be safe." Pluto finished wearily.

Sailor Cosmos and the two princes waved solemnly goodbye and cautiously approached the door. "This is it. If you want to turn back, do so now." Sailor Cosmos warned. Both men stood their positions, leaving Sailor Cosmos no choice but to nod. "Good, now let's go!" Pulling the door open, they hesitantly stepped through.

"Please, be safe, Princess." Artemis whispered softly watching the three disappear with the door. Now all they could do was wait and pray for their safe return.


	6. The Dark Forest

I'm trying to update all three of my stories, but with graduation and Senior trip, I'm kind of busy. I hope everyone likes this new chapter and I'll try to get another one out soon!!

The Dark Forest

Small feet flew across the dark forest flooring. A whimper was quickly chocked back as delicate hands crashed against the cold ground. Harsh breathing broke the silence as the small feet once again started running. Then everything stopped and a small set of red eyes peered out from a hidden hole in a tree. One thought rang clear throughout the night, 'Please don't let her find me.'

Sailor Cosmos looked hesitantly at the surrounding landscape. Ice covered the ground until it met up with a thick forest of tall trees. Beyond the forest was a mountain with a glowing light at the top that flickered with every second. Studying the ground, Sailor Cosmos wondered why there was ice. Obviously, there was grass under the ice and the temperature was not cold enough to freeze.

The two princes were equally studying the distance to the forest and forming a game plan. Travis spoke first, breaking the silence that had gripped them. "Alright, we make our way through the forest and then scale the mountain until we reach the light. What do you say?"

Cosmos nodded, but Darien looked reluctant. "What if it's a trap? That light could be an allure used by enemies in this land to trap unaware travelers." Cosmos looked at Darien strangely. Before he would hardly ever voice his opinions, always content to let others lead the way but now he was changed. Noticing her assessing stare, Darien turned to look at her.

Travis quickly terminated the tension building in the air. "Well, unless you have a better plan you would like to share, we have no other option." Darien nodded and broke his gaze away from Cosmos. "I can try to contact Helios. I haven't had any contact with him since our rebirth into this time, but it couldn't hurt to try."

Closing his eyes, Darien opened up his ties to the Dream plane. It sort of felt like the link he used to have with Serenity, a string that had one end tied to him and the other to someone else that he had a bond with.

'Helios, protector of Dreams, old friend, can you hear me?' Concentrating his thoughts through the bond that he had with Helios was difficult since the bond was weak and almost non-existent. The fact that Darien was already in the Dream plane should help out his cause.

Patiently, Darien kept calling out to his old friend, beckoning him to answer his summons. Finally his hard work was rewarded, the air in front of the trio grew hazy and then a boy appeared. He was pale in skin tone and had whitish-blue hair. A horn grew out of the middle of his forehead and bright gold eyes hid deep loneliness and the burden of huge responsibility.

Bowing at the waist, the boy who was dressed in a white shirt and pants introduced himself. "Greetings, I am Helios, guardian of the Dream plane. How may I be of assistance?"

"Helios, my comrades and I are searching for the legendary unicorn, Moon Dancer, for a cure that she only has. Can you aide us in our quest?" Darien asked startled at Helios' formality and aloofness towards him.

"I am sorry, but I will not be able to help you with your quest. I am forbidden by the law of the land to aid those in search of the antidote. I can only show you the path that you must take." Helios' tone was distant.

"Thank you, Helios. We will appreciate any help that you can give." Cosmos said with appreciation, stepping up closer to Helios. Helios looked up from his position of inferiority and gazed into her eyes. Cosmos could have sworn that a spark of hope appeared, but it was too quick to be sure.

Nodding, Helios turned towards the plane of ice. "As you wish, if you would please follow me." Glancing at Travis, Cosmos stepped forward and started to follow beside Helios.

Gasping, they all stared in amazement at the cluster of trees before them. One second ago, they were miles away from the forest and in one short step; they had appeared right in front of them. Looking at Helios who looked unsurprised, he turned away from their inquiring stare.

"This forest has many dangers that are from the darkest of nightmares. Their attacks will hurt you and may even kill you. Proceed with the gravest of caution and stay close to the path. Moon Dancer's lair is through this forest and at the top of the mountain where the dancing light is." At this, Travis smirked at Darien. "There, you will complete three tests to gauge whether or not you are worthy of the antidote."

Nodding the trio acquired looks of seriousness as they tried to see the dangers that lied in wait ahead of them. "Now, I will bid you farewell and good luck. I will not be able to help you during the journey but I will wait patiently for your success." Thanking him quietly the trio set forth for the forest.

Trailing at the end, Cosmos stopped to look at Helios one last time. She felt like he wanted to tell her something but couldn't. About to continue to follow the men, Helios' voice stopped her. "Princess, something precious to me is lost with in this forest and I am forbidden to try to find it. I will appreciate that if you happen to come across it that you would protect it for me until I am able to gather it."

"How will I be able to know what it is that I am looking for?" Cosmos asked curiously. "When you see it, you will know." And with that Helios disappeared, leaving the trial of feathers behind. Shrugging at the secrecy of it all, Cosmos ran to catch up with the men.

Cosmos shivered at the negative vibes she was receiving as they trailed farther into the forest. At first when they had entered, the sun was visible through the treetops but now only enough light for them to see their way guided them. Rubbing her arms, she tried to shrug off the feeling of being watched, but it would not go away.

"This place is giving me the creeps. I hope we exit this forest soon." Cosmos whispered, fearful to raise her voice for other things to hear. Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, Travis agreed. "Come closer to me, Cosmos, and I will keep you safe from danger."

Inching closer to Travis' side, Cosmos kept a close watch out for danger from the woods. Darien watched the two silently, ignoring the feeling of jealousy that panged his heart at the apparent intimacy between the two. 'Don't be stupid, Darien. It's Serenity you love, not Cosmos. Stop acting like a jealous boyfriend.' Although his silent pep talk didn't erase the feeling, it quieted it down enough to focus on the hidden dangers of the forest.

"Wait, everyone be quiet for a minute." Stopping in their tracks, the trio froze listening for the sounds of the enemy. After a moment, Cosmos broke the silence. "Travis, what are we listening for?"

Darien answered for him, "The sounds of the forest have stopped. Listen carefully, before there were birds, but now…but now there is nothing." With both of the men's hands on their sword's handles, Cosmos became aware of the absolute silence. Silently calling forth her staff, she readied herself for battle.

There was no warning as the swarms of black substance oozed from the trees. It looked like the shadows themselves were coming alive. Pushing themselves into a triangle, the trio tried to stay in the light, each protecting each other's back.

"I think we're in trouble, guys." Travis whispered as the onslaught came closer. Grasping her staff, Cosmos whispered her plan. "I'm going to call forth one of my attacks and then everyone make a dash down the pathway. We can't stay in fight or we'll lose valuable time and energy." Nodding, they got into position.

"One, two…three! MOON LIGHT ASCEND!!" The light spread across the forest onto the approaching shadows. While the light pushed away the shadows, the trio sprinted down the pathway. They all knew that the attack wouldn't last that long, so they pushed their selves to the max.

An icy chill traveled down their spines and they knew that the shadows were slowly gaining on them. "Cosmos, do a stronger attack this time!" Darien shouted. Still running, Cosmos called out her attack. "Moon Protector Waning Light!"

Once again the shadows were driven back, this time for a few seconds longer. The trio was tiring and they needed to rest soon. Gasping for breath, they saw the end of the forest in view. Smiling, they drove on their weary bodies towards the light.

With one more Moon Light Ascend, the group exited the forest. Looking back they could see the shadows trying to get free of the restraints of the forest, but each time one would touch the light, it would dissipate. Laughing at the sheer joy of escaping, Cosmos collapsed onto the ground with Travis soon beside her.

Regaining her breath, Cosmos stared at the forest. She could still sense the feeling of being watched, but it wasn't so bad now that she was out of the darkness. Taking Travis' hand, Cosmos pulled herself up. "Now, all we have to do is scale the mountain." Travis muttered.

Darien and Cosmos glanced at the huge mountain in front of them. It would take hours to climb that thing. Sighing, they both started to walk towards it.

Travis and Darien made it to the edge of the mountain. Trying to gather a plan to climb the mountain, they muttered quietly together. "What if I extend my cane to the ledge right there and use a vine to pull you two up?" Darien asked. Shaking his head, Travis explained, "That would be risky. The vine could break and I for one really do not want to go back into that forest to get one. Hmm…there must be another way."

Darien looked away from the mountain and looked around. "Hey, where is Cosmos?" Travis's head shot up and he anxiously glanced around. Cosmos was no where in sight.

Soft sniffles echoed throughout the small hole in the tree. 'Mommy, where are you? I'm scared.' "Little girl? Where are you? I know you're somewhere close." A dark, sinister voice rang in the forest. Immediately the sniffles stopped and bright red eyes glanced around anxiously.

"Come on and come out of your hiding spot. I'm tired of playing this little game. If you come out, I promise not to hurt you." A woman emerged from between nearby trees. Her dark green hair blended in with the shadows and her light green eyes shown with irritancy.

Trying to hide herself more deeply in the hole, the little girl closed her eyes and prayed for help.

Cosmos wandered deeper into the forest, following the call within her heart. The shadows continually beat against her shield, but it didn't hamper her journey any. If she had been smart, she would have used the shield from the very beginning with Travis and Darien, but then that would have used a lot more of her energy too and would have slowed their escape.

It almost was like her body no longer belonged to herself and she was merely a tool being used. If it wasn't for the feeling of danger if she didn't hurry, she would have been scared at the thought of leaving Travis and Darien behind. She hoped they were stupid enough to come in after her.

Hearing a voice, Cosmos slowed her steps and carefully placed her steps. She could hear a woman calling out for someone. Distantly, she realized that the shadows had miraculously disappeared, so she dropped her shield.

Hiding behind a nearby tree, Cosmos glanced in the direction of the voice. The woman was scandalously clad in an emerald green dress that had a v-neck to her bellybutton. Her green hair was the same color as her dress and was pulled up in a high pony tail showing off her bare shoulders. The woman practically screamed 'evil'.

Knowing that she was the enemy, Cosmos searched for the little girl that the woman was calling out for. If the little girl was hiding from the lady, then there was no way Cosmos was going to allow the woman to catch her.

Stretching out her senses to find any other life force in the area, Cosmos almost cried out in glee when she found one nearby. It seemed like the little girl was hiding in one of the trees. Accessing the situation, Cosmos almost laughed when the woman was wandering away from the hiding place of the little girl.

If she played her cards right, Cosmos could get the little girl without the woman ever finding out. Inching her way closer to the girl's tree, Cosmos kept an eye on the woman. So far she seemed oblivious to Cosmos' presence.

Finally, she came to the tree with the little girl. Glancing one more time to make sure the woman was far enough away and not looking, Cosmos looked inside the tree. She couldn't quench the gasp that escaped her lips.

Hearing the woman start cursing, she knew her time was limited. Grabbing the little girl from the tree, Cosmos summoned her wings. Spreading them out, she flew into the air, barely missing the fire ball aimed at her.

Branches and twigs cut her arms and made it difficult to fly through the tiny places. At times she would use the branches to jump off and propel herself into the air. Finally, after evading several attacks and making the woman furious, Cosmos broke through the trees and flew into the sky.

Gasping, she made record time to the place where she left Travis and Darien. Almost crashing into the ground, she landed at their feet. Looking up, Travis gazed at her with fury in his eyes with even Darien matching his anger.

"Cosmos, what in the world possessed you to go back in there? You could have been killed!" Travis continued to shout at her, chastising her for her disappearance. Darien hesitantly touched his shoulder and pointed at Cosmos who still remained silent.

Her wounds weren't serious, but she was bleeding from several small scratches and her clothing was torn. Her wings were ruffled and had small bloodstains on them.

Darien was amazed at the sight of her wings. He had not known that she was capable of summoning them. He could tell she was too tired to care about Travis' anger, so he had tried to calm him down. Besides, he wanted to know why she had done it too and couldn't get his answer with Travis yelling.

In a gentler voice, Darien crouched down to Cosmos' level and asked, "Sailor Cosmos, why did you go back into the woods?" Cosmos' blue eyes met his and then quickly glanced down at her arms. Following her gaze, Darien looked curiously at the pink hair sticking out of her arms.

Moving her arms to allow him a closer look, Darien gasped. Cradled in her arms and sleeping contently was Rini.


	7. Reminisces

Sorry for keeping everyone waiting. If I didn't keep receiving notices that people were still reading my story, I probably would have quit by now. But don't worry I plan on updating a longer chapter soon. Until then, standard disclaimers and enjoy the chapter.

Recap from last chapter:

_Cosmos' blue eyes met his and then quickly glanced down at her arms._ _Following her gaze, Darien gasped when he saw the bundle she carried. In her arms was Rini._

Reminisces

Luna knit silently as Linda struggled from imaginary monsters in her nightmares. Every now and then again Luna would hear her cry for the daughter she had lost during the silver millennium. Luna shook her head sadly at the unfairness of the situation. All of their lives, every one of them only wished to have a normal life and to live out that life peacefully. Instead all they received was heartache and fighting.

Even her life wasn't as sweet as she had wanted it to be. She still remembered the first day they had moved into their new house in New York after the betrayal of the scouts. Serena had been so excited about starting her life over again and that excitement lit up Luna's and Artemis' hearts.

Everything was going fine until _she_ came.

Flashback

"This is our new home and the start of our new life!" Usagi laughed as she rushed past Luna and Artemis to the doors of their new two story brick home. Pulling them open, her laughter drifted back to Luna and Artemis as they slowly made their way up the steps.

When they finally made it to the entrance, they watched as Usagi twirled in the center of the room creating a positively radiant image with a trinkle of sunlight shining down on her. Smiling happily at them, Usagi ran towards them, grasping each of their hands and pulling them along to view their new home.

Hours later, Usagi was still upstairs unpacking while Luna put together a small dinner with the few groceries they had. Artemis was outside scoping the small land behind their house for a place to plant a garden. Humming softly, Luna smiled at the joy they had found in this small crook in New York.

Breaking the mood, the doorbell chimed insistently. A frown marred Luna's face as she wondered who in the world would be calling on them this late. The only people she could think of who would even know they were there were their new neighbors.

"Coming!" She called, hoping Usagi didn't beat her to the door and let a mad man in without thinking. Looking through the small peep hole, Luna saw a young teenager in an oversized black trench coat. The face was hidden, but pieces of goldish-red hair stuck out.

Opening the door, Luna questioningly said, "Hello." Brushing past her, the figure walked inside and stood in the middle of the foyer. "Excuse me, may I ask you what you think you're doing?" Luna exclaimed.

The figure raised its head and a young girl with bright blue eyes gazed beseechingly at Luna. An odd feeling of recognition came over Luna as she looked upon the stranger. "Luna, do you remember me?" The voice haunted her thoughts causing her to become dizzy.

"I'm sorry, but I have no clue about who you are." Luna heard herself say. The room was starting to spin now as past memories tried to overcome her thoughts. Putting a hand to her head, she leaned upon the door for support. The girl started to cry as she begged Luna to remember her.

"Lunabean, please say you know me." The girl cried out. "Lunabean? Where did you get that horrendous nickname?" As soon as that thought escaped her lips, a memory came back to her vividly.

_A little girl was sitting on her lap. Luna smiled down upon her and twisted her goldish-red hair in her finger. "Lunabean, please tell me another story." The child begged her once again like she did every night at bedtime. Tucking her in, Luna took a place in the chair beside her bed. "Of course, little one. Let me tell you a story of a princess…" The child cut in with determination. "No! Tell me the story of the two sisters. You know, the one like you and me!" The girl demanded. Laughing softly, Luna agreed. "Of course, I know that is your favorite, Stellar. A long time ago, there were two sisters just like you and me….." _

The memory faded and Luna could stand upright again. "Stellar? Is that really you? You've grown so much." The girl's face lit up as she heard her name and tears once again rushed from her eyes. "You do remember, Lunabean! I've missed you so much!" In a blink of an eye, she had launched herself into Luna's waiting arms and squeezing the breath out of her.

End flashback

Luna sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time today. She still couldn't believe that her baby sister had allowed the NegaVerse to pervert her mind and turn her into the evil person she was today. Forcing her mind off the depressing thoughts, Luna made herself busy and changed the washcloth on Linda's head.

Darien stared down in shock at the bundle held protectively in Cosmos' arms. He had thought he had lost Rini for good after Serena had left. Tears blurred his vision as he crouched down to lightly brush Rini's hair.

"Darien, can you hold her for me? I think my arms are about to give out." Cosmos said softly catching the wistful look in Darien's eyes. Darien caught himself, for a second there he had thought he had heard Serena. Frowning at himself for even comparing her and Cosmos, Darien nodded and silently took Rini out of Cosmos' arms.

Travis rushed forward and helped Cosmos stand, questioning once again on her wellbeing and what she was thinking. Ignoring their discussion, Darien tried to grasp an explanation on why Rini was in the Dream Plane.

Stirring softly, Rini opened her pink eyes to stare up at Darien's dark blue. "Rini." Darien whispered as her bright eyes widened with shock. "Darien!" Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she sobbed while holding onto his neck. Rubbing her back softly, Darien looked troubled at her anguish.

A meow caused him to glance at Cosmos to see that she was holding a small, gray kitten with a crescent moon on her forehead. "Darien, I was so scared! Those mean ladies were trying to find me and I got lost in those dark, scary woods!" Rini sobbed while pulling back to look at him.

"Everything's alright now, Rini. You're safe with me." Rini nodded, but still looked scared. "Where's Serena? I want Serena. Where's my moon mommy?!" Rini's scared gaze searched fruitlessly for Serena's face. Darien shocked and guilty, couldn't say a word.

Cosmos felt her heart break and almost confessed to Rini who she really was until Travis grasped her arm and shook his head no. Nodding, Cosmos discreetly wiped the tears out of her eyes with only a small kitten as witness.

"I think we should come up with another plan to climb that mountain." Travis stated breaking the silence of the four. Darien nodded, but couldn't think of another solution. "I could always fly up there and then maybe find a rope to let you two climb." Cosmos offered, but Travis shook his head.

"You hurt and strained yourself too much rescuing that little girl. I would rather we come up with another solution." Travis stated. Listening at their conversation, Rini muffled something against Darien's shoulder.

"What did you say, Rini?" Darien asked. "I know a way up the mountain." Rini whispered again. "Really? How?" Travis asked jumping at another idea. "There's a secret path up the mountain on the other side." Rini explained, suddenly shy with everyone's attention on her. "Helios showed it to me." When she mentioned Helios' name, a blush formed on her cheeks.

Noticing the blush, Cosmos remembered Helios' plea for her to help find the precious thing he had lost. Gazing at Rini, Cosmos wondered if she was who Helios' was talking about. Smiling at the possible love match, Cosmos spoke her two cents in the conversation.

"I think that we should give Rini the chance to show us where it is. It would save a lot of trouble and may even be easier than actually scaling the mountain."

Everyone nodded and it was decided to allow Rini the chance. Determination filled Rini's eyes and she swore that she wouldn't let everyone down.

Looking back one last time, Travis' thoughts drifted to Linda. 'Please, love, hold on just a little bit longer.' Going against his brain that was telling him that he was stupid for placing the life of his love's into the hands of a little girl, Travis followed Cosmos and Darien.

Everyone was following Usagi's orders back home and seemed to be getting along splendidly. In the mornings, Erika tutored the Inners, Molly, and Hotaru on the history of the Silver Millenium and then during the lunch time, they trained.

After that, the Generals would arrive and they would pick up the Inners to show them around Silver Moonlight Castle. Molly, Hotaru, and Erika would either then go home or meet up with the Outers to try to help gather information.

So far all they could find out was that when the rainbow crystal was taken out of the user's body, only true love's kiss would allow it to return. Even though only half a day had passed in the Dream Plane, two days had passed in the real world.

There had been another youma attack, but everyone had worked together to defeat them. Like Usagi had ordered, each night a new pair went on patrol. Last night had been Nathan's and Lita's and tonight was Rei and Jed's.

"So Mars, how's it feel being a shrine priestess?" Jed asked while glancing at Mars. Sailor Mars rolled her eyes at his attempt at small talk. "It's relaxing and helps me find my inner peace." Mars sighed. Jed nodded in understanding. "I understand. With a temper like yours, a few moments of peace are hard to come by."

Glaring at him, Mars asked indignantly, "And what is that supposed to mean?" Trying to hide his smile, Jed answered solemnly. "My dear Mars, your temper would scare away all of your suitors in the silver millennium. Heck, if you didn't look so damn beautiful when angry, I probably would have ran away too."

Blushing, Mars couldn't come up with a retort. Instead she said softly, "Well, I hate to break it to you, but that was a long time ago. I've changed and some things just aren't the same anymore." Seeing the double meaning, Jed's smile was replaced with a frown.

Watching the duo, the dark figure laughed at their bickering. She enjoyed toying with their emotions and couldn't wait to follow them back to where that stupid girl was hiding. Her master would be very pleased with her if she found him that rainbow jewel he had lost.

Mars glanced at Jed and he gave a small nod. Stopping in their tracks, they turned to where the figure was hiding. "Come out from where you are!" Jed shouted. "We know you're there! Stop hiding and show yourself!" Mars cried.

Sensing that she was caught, a woman stepped out of the shadows. She had long pink hair with piercing pink eyes. A black dress that had a slit to her bellybutton stuck to her body like a second skin. For a second there, Mars mistook her for Dark Lady, but realized it wasn't quickly. This lady's pink eyes promised nothing but death.

Laughing, the lady introduced herself. "My name is Momo and I am a servant of the Dark Lord. Take me to where your friend is and I will let you live." Mars snorted very unladylike and laughed. "Ha, you think that we're going to lead you to where Linda is, than you have another thing coming!"

The lady stopped laughing and her smile turned smug. "Girlie, don't waste my time." Turning her gaze off of Mars, she looked at Jed who had transformed into his tuxedo counterpart. "How about you, handsome? Ditch this whiny brat and come with a real woman."

Jed turned a disgusted look on her and smiled at Mars. "I'm sorry, but my heart is already taken by another." Momo was the one to look disgusted now. "Eww…how sweet. Fine, then you two can die together!"

Suddenly a portal opened up behind her and youma poured out of it. "Uh oh, I think we might had made her mad. Mars, I think this is a good time to call for backup." Jed said with mild concern. Mars nodded and whipped out her communicator and began to frantically call for help.

Momo laughed at their fear. "Get them, boys!" As if a dam was released, the flood of youma pounced on the two.

Jed was frantically trying to protect Mars and still defeat some of the youma. With their combined efforts, they were barely keeping the youma off of their backs. Standing back to back, they were surrounded by them.

"Mars, I just wanted you to know that I still love you and have never stopped." Jed said softly feeling Mars flinch. "Please don't talk like that. We'll get through this." Mars whispered back. Jed smiled at her optimism and silently prayed that she was right.

They could feel their bodies tiring even though it was only minutes since they first started fighting. There was just too many of them. Jed looked back to see a youma coming up behind Mars while she fought obliviously on.

'Shit!' Sprinting, he was barely able to meet the youma's attack with his cane, but left his back exposed to the other youma. Feeling the energy ball hit his back, he cried out in pain.

Mars turned around to see the youma about to attack her, but then Jed jumped in front of her and blocked the blow. Smiling, she never noticed the energy ball heading his way. About to turn away, she stopped at his cry of pain.

Gasping she watched him fall to the ground but not before killing the youma in front of him. "Jed!" Mars screamed, forcing her way to him. The youma stopped attacking sensing their weakness and was forming one single wave to finish them off.

"Mars, we don't have much time. You need to get out of here, save yourself. I'm too weak to continue on, but I will hold them off for you to escape." Jed said while struggling to get up. Mars held him down with tears in her eyes.

"You big goof, always worrying about me. Let me handle things for once." Jed watched in awe as the determination in her eyes grew and her fury burned her skin like fire. "I'm going to get you for hurting someone very close to me." Mars warned the surrounding youma.

Jed watched on in surprise as Mars scout uniform transformed into a red dress and a tiara formed on her head. "Princess Rei, my love." Her eyes raged with an internal fire and she slowly called upon the power of Mars.

In a blink of an eye, the youma pounced upon them but were met with a fiery force field that disintegrated anything that touched it. The rest of the youma that didn't die that way were soon turned to dust with the fire that shot forth out of Rei's hands.

Momo finally seeing her lost, disappeared through the open portal.

Jed caught Rei as she fainted and turned back into normal old Rei. Picking her up, he met the rest of the group that had just arrived. Smiling softly at her words about him being someone close to her, he finally felt the hope be rekindled in his heart.


	8. Friend or Foe?

Hi, everyone! Well thanks to everyone who has added me to their story alert or favorite author/story. I greatly appreciate all the reviews too. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

Friend or Foe?

Hours had passed since Rini took the lead up the path to the hidden entrance up the mountain. Travis was starting to lose faith in the little girl and had the feeling that they were running out of time.

"Hey, Rini. I just thought of something. Do you remember Travis from the future?" Darien asked curiously. Rini stopped walking and thought for a minute.

"Mommy never mentioned anything any other uncles except Uncle Sammy." Rini stated. "Hmm…interesting." Darien muttered with an anxious look on his face. Cosmos stopped and started to wonder too. If Rini had never met Travis, then did they never meet or did something happen to him along the way?

"Anyway, we're here!" Rini exclaimed with a huge smile on her face. Darien, Travis and Cosmos stared at the wall of rock in front of them. Frowning to each other, they searched for the hidden door.  
"Rini, are you sure this is the right place? I don't see a door." Travis accused. Rini bit her lip and eyed him in frustration. "Of course I'm sure! Watch!" Taking out a key that hung on a chain around her neck, she put it into the wall and turned.

Slowly a portion of the wall started to creak and a door like entrance opened. "See, I told you there was a door!" Rini said in a knowing tone and started walking through the door.

Cosmos grinned at Rini's attitude and shot a knowing glance at Travis. Reluctantly he smiled back and started following Darien through the door. Finally, they were almost ready to really start their mission.

Back at the Moon's mansion, the team was having another meeting. The Outers had gathered everyone together to announce the most recent news. Erika stood at the end of the table in Usagi's usual place. Looking at the room at everyone's expectant faces, she desperately wished that Usagi could have been there.

"Okay everyone. We called this meeting so that everyone could be on the same page. Amoura, would you please share with everyone the most recent news?" With that said, Erika sat down and Amoura stood up. Her face showed no emotion except displeasure as she spoke.

"We have found out that the enemy already has one rainbow crystal in their possession." She waited for the cries of dismally to quiet down before continuing. "The person possessing the rainbow crystal was Rose Thornvalley. She…" She stopped talking and looking questioningly at Erika.

Everyone turned to see what Amoura was staring at and noticed Erika's unusual color. Her face had no color left in it and she looked ready to faint. "Are you alright, Erika?" Nathan asked beside her. Shaking her head no, she slowly asked. "Did you say Rose Thornvalley?" At Amoura's nod, she asked another question. "Do you have a picture of anything of what she looks like?"

Amoura nodded to Michelle who took out her mirror. Facing it towards Erika, a picture of a girl about the age of eighteen with long black hair in two braids and midnight blue eyes appeared in the glass. Everyone looked at the picture and got a feeling that they should know this girl. "She looks familiar." Rei muttered, surprising Mina and Ami who agreed with her.

Sighing, Erika stood up. "I was afraid of this." She muttered quietly before facing everyone with sorrowful eyes. "I'm afraid this is worse than we feared. This girl, Rose Thornvalley, was at the orphanage where Linda and I were placed. She was our friend and we were always beside each other." Taking a breath, she continued. "Then one day, while we were taking our naps, we woke to the sounds of Rose's screams. Of course, Linda and I rushed to the spot to see a man being attacked by the trees."

"Then we noticed Rose just standing there staring at him with such fear in her eyes. We were only ten then, but we already knew the dangers of men. We found out later from Rose that the man had tried attacking her and she had freaked out. The trees had come to her rescue."

Staring at the shocked faces of the scouts and generals, she discreetly wiped a tear from her eye. "Not soon after that, Rose was adopted and then Linda and I were adopted. After we discovered we were sailor scouts, we realized that Rose was really Prince Darien's sister and Sailor Earth."  
Gasps were heard and then the volume of the room rose. Cries about Darien being in a car wreck and him losing his memory were heard as pieces of the puzzle were put back together.

"Quiet!" Amoura shouted and the room went silent. Erika nodded and asked, "Amoura, what happened to Rose?" Michelle stood up and answered. "Currently, she is in the Tokyo General Hospital in a coma on life support." Erika nodded and leaned on the table with her eyes closed. Everyone took their seats once again and looked at each other for the answer to the question, how do we help her now?

Later after everyone had left, Erika visited Linda. The Outers had left on the new mission of answering the question of how to help Rose survive without her rainbow crystal and everyone else went on to train. Glancing down at her friend's fevered face, Erika started crying.

"Linda, what am I supposed to do now? Our dear friend Rose is lying in a coma and if Usagi and the others don't hurry, you could die! How can I help everyone?" More tears fell from her eyes and soon exhausted, she fell into a deep sleep beside Linda's bed.

The Inners were at the temple having just escaped the watchful eyes of the Generals. "So, you turned into your princess form?" Mina asked after hearing Rei tell what happened the night before. "Yeah, it was really strange. I was just so angry at Jed getting hurt that I felt full of so much power. I really don't know what happened after that, Jed had to tell me later on." She ended sheepishly.

"I think it's romantic. The heroine overcome with love for her soul mate that she explodes with a fury against those who hurt him!" Mina ended the statement with hearts in her eyes and a whimsical look on her face. Lita nodded and even Ami found herself nodding. Rei blushed and answered with denial. "No! That's not what happened. I don't even like him like that! Remember, I'm with Chad!"

The girls just shot each other a look and laughed. Glancing at Rei, Lita smiled real big and got a dreamy look on her face. "That reminds me. Yesterday, Nathan and I had such a great time. We went to my bakery for a break from training and he showed me how to make this delicious peanut butter pie. I'll have to make it for you guys one day!" Mina shared her mood and put in her two cents.

"Yeah, Keith and I went to a club last night and sang a duet in the karaoke contest. We sang this romantic love song and ended up making out in the back of the club!" "Mina!" Was heard at the same time from each of the girls. "I'm just kidding! We just spent the night talking and telling each other our dreams." After a moment of silence, Rei looked over at Ami's blushing face. "How about you, Ami? How are you and Zach coming along?"

Ami's blush turned a little bit redder and she quietly exclaimed. "We discussed our careers and studies that we were doing, and then spent the remainder of the night gazing up at the stars from the roof of the building." Sighs were heard, as each girl reminisced on her night and past lover.

Panting, Cosmos wiped the sweat from her forehead. The door in the side of the mountain had led to a stairwell that they have been climbing for what seemed like forever. There was no light and Cosmos had to summon some energy to light their way so that they didn't fall.

"Do you see an exit yet, Cosmos?" Travis asked from the rear. Since she had the light, she was leading the way with Darien's hand on her back for guidance. Sighing at the question that had been asked a billion times, she looked. "No, Travis. I don't see the exit yet. Be patient." As soon as she said that, she started seeing a trinkle of light a little distance away.

"Wait; there is some light up ahead. I think it's the exit." Excitement was heard in her voice as she increased her steps. A few minutes later, they all stepped out into the light and cried out at the brightness of it. The stairs had led to a hilly landscape covered in snow. It really didn't resemble the top of the mountain; instead it looked like a whole different world.

Surveying the surroundings, Cosmos searched for any signs of Moon Dancer. Suddenly she heard something. Straining her ears, she tried to place the sound. Travis' laughing was all she could hear. "Be quiet, everyone!" The sharp tone she used had its effect and everyone stopped talking. Straining again, she heard the sound once more but this time it was louder.

Everyone else started hearing it too. "What is that?" Rini asked, wondering why everyone had the concerned looks on their faces. No one answered, so she tugged on Darien's arm and asked again. "I don't know, Rini. It sounds like a swarm of bees." As soon as he said that, a black mist appeared over one of the hills.

"Oh no, we have to get out of here!" Cosmos cried and scooped Rini and Diana up in her arms. "Let's go!" She motioned for the two guys to follow her. Earlier she had noticed that the light that lit up the top of the mountain lit up the brightest a little distance ahead of them. Luckily, it was opposite of the direction of the black swarm.

Sprinting, the two men followed Cosmos towards the light. Darien looked back and saw the swarm getting closer to them. "Hurry, they're gaining on us!" He warned the others.

Chest heaving, Cosmos practically flew across the snow covered ground, but it seemed like they weren't even getting close at all to their destination. Travis and Darien noticed it too and wondered at the strange occurrence. "What's going on?" Travis asked the other two.

Cosmos suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned to face the swarm. Noticing her abrupt stop, the two men mimicked her actions. "What is it, Cosmos?" Darien asked. "I think we're supposed to stay and fight." Cosmos said in a determined voice.

"Are you crazy, Cosmos?" Travis demanded. "How are we supposed to fight a bunch of bees? We don't have the time. We have to find Moon Dancer!" His angry tone didn't bother Cosmos a bit. Sighing, he placed himself in front of her and took out his sword. "I'm going to trust you, but I hope you know what you're doing!" He said in a tired tone.

Darien joined him and together the trio waited for the swarm to come. Cosmos squinted at the black mist and then placed Rini and Diana onto the ground. Walking in front of the two princes, she held out her hand. "Cosmos, get back! It's dangerous to be standing there like that!" Travis warned and tried to pull her behind him. Shrugging off his attempt, Cosmos kept her stance and waited patiently as the swarm got closer.

Darien felt his heart stop in fear for Cosmos. She was going to get herself killed. Shrugging off the worry, Darien wondered about her. Who was she to affect him like this? His fear for her turned to fear for himself. Was he really falling for another girl besides Serena?

Darien, Travis, and Rini watched in amazement as the black swarm enveloped Cosmos. Travis was about to rush forward to her aid, but Darien held him back. Travis shot him a look that would have killed a lesser man, but Darien refused to let him go. Finally, it seemed like their whole fight was nothing, since Cosmos emerged from the black swarm perfectly fine.

She walked towards them and smiled. "They said that they would show us the way to Moon Dancer's lair!" She said excitedly. They all shot her dumbfounded looks causing her expression to turn sheepish. "Oh sorry, guys! These are the Dream Faeries who maintain this world's landscape." Sweeping her arm in the direction of the black swarm, she smiled once again and started to follow it.

"Come on, guys! Don't just stand there!" Cosmos shouted, making everyone else aware that she was almost out of sight. "Well you heard her." Rini said and started running to catch up to her. Travis and Darien just looked at each other and shrugged. "Women, what can you do with them?" They both muttered and rushed to catch up.

Cosmos and Rini stared at the man standing before them. He was wearing a black uniform with gold trimming. His black hair was pulled back into a low pony tail and his blue eyes seemed to stare into their souls. Adorning his face was a smile of appreciation for Cosmos' beauty.

The men caught up to see him eyeing Cosmos. Jealousy flared up in Darien, but protectiveness and suspicious was aroused in Travis. Both of them stepped protectively in front of Cosmos, causing the man's grin to become into a smirk.

"I'm glad that you two could join our little party. My name is Seiya and I will be your host to your first test." The man spoke with a haughty tone. "I thought that we were supposed to be tested by Moon Dancer." Darien asked suspiciously. Waving off his question, Seiya frowned. "Listen, I really don't feel like doing this either, but I have to. Do you really want the antidote or not?"

Turning to leave he was stopped by Cosmos's cry to wait who had pushed past the two men. Turning back with a smile at her, he walked up and kissed her hand. "And what is your name, beautiful?" His voice sent tingles down Cosmos's spine and his smile was contagious.

"I am Sailor Cosmos and I need that antidote for a dear friend of mine. Could you please tell me what the first test is?" Ignoring the growls of Darien and Travis, Seiya took Cosmos' arm and walked with her causing everyone else to reluctantly follow.

"Your first test is one of strength. Are you strong, beautiful?" Blushing once again, Cosmos gazed questioningly at him. "Strength?" Nodding Seiya continued. "For each test, only one of you can participate and after that test is over, that person cannot participate anymore. Everyone else will be detained in the waiting area. So who is going to complete this one?"

Stopping to look at the two guys with one eye brow cocked, Seiya smirked at the apparent jealousy in their eyes. "What is the test?" Travis asked. Seiya smirked again and said in a cocky tone. "I can't tell you until you chose who is going to participate."

Frowning, Travis looked at Darien. "What do you think?" They stood eyeing each other causing Cosmos to think of something. "Wait, why do you two automatically assume that I can't do it?" Placing her hands no her hips, she shot both of them a look that only a woman could muster.

Putting their hands up defensively, they both started uttering explanations. Eyeing the situation, Seiya cut them all off. "There's only one way to handle this." Noticing he had everyone's attention, he continued. "Paper, Rock, Scissors."

Nodding, Cosmos agreed and smiled at the boys. 'Dang it, I always suck at this game.' Travis thought irately. 'I can't let Cosmos win.' Darien chanted as everyone assumed the position to play. Hand fisted, they chanted while making the motion of up and down with the fist. "Paper, Rock, SCISSOR!"

Rini watched and gazed at the hand signals. Darien had chosen rock, Travis had chosen scissors, and Cosmos had rock. "Ha! Rock beats scissors!" Cosmos cheered, but frowned when she noticed Darien had rock too.

"Okay, Cosmos and Darien face off!" Seiya motioned and gave the head start signal. Glaring at each other, they put on their game faces. "Paper, Rock, Scissors!" Looking past Travis, Rini cheered. Cosmos had rock and Darien had chosen paper.

"Darien wins!" Rini exclaimed rushing to give Darien a hug. Darien looked at Seiya and said with a smirk of his own. "So what do I have to prove my strength against?"

Seiya grinned and answered. "You have to beat me to win this test." Then with that being said, he took out his headset and shouted, "Fighter Star Power, Make Up!" With everyone watching in shock, Seiya transformed into a girl.

"Well, Darien, have fun." Travis laughed, patting Darien who was still in shock on the back. 'How in the world am I supposed to fight a girl?!' Darien thought in a daze. Unfortunately for him, he only had a few more seconds to ponder that thought before Sailor Star Fighter jumped into action.

"Better watch it, pretty boy! Cause here I come!" Sprinting towards him, Darien only had a second to spare to dodge the punch aimed his way. Looking at Cosmos, Travis grinned. "This is going to be very interesting."


	9. The Test of Strength

Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I had a small brain freeze and was getting ready for college which starts Monday. So it will probably be a while until the next chapter gets out. Well, enjoy! Standard disclaimers. I do not own Sailor Moon and if any one wants to argue for Travis, they can claim him all they want.

Recap of last chapter:

"Darien wins!" Rini exclaimed rushing to give Darien a hug. Darien looked at Seiya and said with a smirk of his own. "So what do I have to prove my strength against?"

Seiya grinned and answered. "You have to beat me to win this test." Then with that being said, he took out his headset and shouted, "Fighter Star Power, Make Up!" With everyone watching in shock, Seiya transformed into a girl.

The Test of Strength

Cosmos watched as Darien fought Seiya. At first, she forgot what the outcome of the test signified and almost started to cheer for Seiya. But then, she remembered that her friend's life hung on the balance of who won and started to cheer for Darien.  
Darien heard Cosmos cheer for him and a warm feeling went throughout this body. For some reason, it just felt right for her to support him. Barely dodging another punch from Sailor Star Fighter, Darien wondered why she wasn't using any of her powers against him.

As if sensing the question, Sailor Star Fighter smirked. "I don't need to use my powers on the likes of you. I can take you any day without them!" Truth be told, she had almost started to use them, but Moon Dancer had stopped her. Moon Dancer wanted the fight to be fair, so it was physical strength against physical strength.

The trio watched as the two battled on for what seemed like forever. With each punch and kick, neither seemed to be affected or showed signs of relenting. They had held their breath in the beginning because Darien refused to hit a girl and Sailor Star Fighter used that to her advantage.

Then after a roundhouse kick to the head, Darien suddenly had a change of heart and started to be on the offensive. Yet, both were great fighters and seemed to have an unlimited supply of endurance.

'I have to win this fight, not only for Sailor Star, but to prove myself to Serena wherever she is.' Darien chanted over and over again. If he ever wanted Serena to show herself again, then he had to prove that he was a changed man.

"Darien!" Rini cried as Sailor Star Fighter hit him in the stomach and then performed an uppercut. Darien started to fall backward, but swiftly caught himself and rolled away just in time to miss Sailor Star Fighter's kick.

Time ticked by while both fighters stopped to stare at each other. Both had numerous bruises and cuts and were sweating profusely. Panting, Sailor Star Fighter called out, "Have you had enough, pretty boy?"

Darien grinned and said "I was just about to ask you the same thing." Travis called out, "I really don't want to be a bother. But we don't have all day! Finish this, Darien!"Cosmos nodded and thought about the change Darien went under. He wasn't the same man who had betrayed her years ago. He seemed to be more like the prince she fell in love with during the Silver Millennium. 'I guess the years have changed us both.' She thought to herself.

"He's right. The next move finishes this once and for all." Sailor Star Fighter said. Both fighters gathered their last remaining strength and in a split second, it was all over.

Erika looked down at the girl's sleeping face. After informing Luna, she had come over to the hospital to see Rose for herself. The doctor had informed her that Rose's vitals were steady, but they had a limited time they kept patients on life support. Rose's adopted family had died last year in a coincidental car crash just like her biological parents.

Leaning over to grasp Rose's hand, Erika vowed, "Don't worry, Rose, we'll find a way to get your rainbow crystal back. Until then, just hang on." After that, Erika spent the remainder of her time just informing Rose about everything that had happened to her since they had last seen each other. Somehow, she knew Rose was listening to everything that she was saying.

Rei looked at Chad's guilty face and couldn't remember one reason why she loved him. She felt the tears running down her face and the sob threatening to be let loose. This wasn't like her at all, she should be screaming at him to get out instead of standing there crying.

"Rei, I can explain." Chad started, but Rei just held up her hand. "There's nothing to explain, Chad. I knew that you wanted a physical relationship, but I just couldn't give you that. So you went somewhere else. I understand perfectly." Even her voice didn't sound like her. Instead of being vibrant and filled with sarcasm, it was quiet and sad.

Chad started to stand, but suddenly remembered his nudity and grabbed for the sheet. The blonde headed girl laying in the futon beside him yanked it back. So instead, he just sat down and reached for Rei's hand.

"Please don't do this to us, Rei. Give me another chance. I love you." Chad begged, but Rei just shook her head. "No, Chad. We were never meant to be together. I'm giving 24 hours to find another place to stay." With that being said, she started towards the door.

Suddenly, she was yanked from behind and lost her footing. The hand that grasped her fell with her and with a thud she hit the chair beside her. Getting up, she felt her cheek where she fell on the chair and could feel the bruise forming.

"Rei, I'm so sorry." Chad started again, but Rei stopped listening. Spitting, she saw the blood mixed in with her saliva. Rei started out the door once again and this time she was able to leave.

Ignoring Chad's cry, Rei shut the door and then ran to hers. Once she reached the sanctuary of her own room, she fell to her knees and started sobbing.

At the park, the Inners and the Generals were sitting on a blanket with a huge picnic basket in front of them. Lita and Nathan had made a huge lunch for everyone. "Has anyone seen Rei today?" Jed asked his voice tinged with concern.

The girls all looked confused and then seemed to snap from a daze. Suddenly, they realized Rei wasn't with them. "No, we haven't seen or heard from her since yesterday evening." Lita replied feeling guilty for not noticing sooner. Her only excuse was that Nathan had her so dazed that she couldn't concentrate on anything else.

"I'm going to go check on her. Go ahead and eat without us." Getting up, Jed forced himself to calmly walk away instead of running to his beloved.

"I hope she's okay. Do you think we should go with him?" Mina asked the others. "No, I think this is something only the two of them can fix together." Nathan replied with a confidence from an inner sense. Nodding everyone concentrated on eating instead of the couple's problems.

"Rei? Rei, are you here?" Jed looked around the front of the temple, but didn't see any sign of the black haired priestess. "Rei, where are you?" He muttered to himself and walked to the back where Rei lived.

'The second room is hers, I believe. I think the first one is her grandpa's old room and then the last one is that guys.' Just thinking about the loser Chad made Jed angry. If only he had gotten here sooner, he could be like the rest of the generals who easily snagged back their beloveds.

Instead he was competing with some rock loser who seemed to be stuck in the 80's with his shaggy hairdo. Stopping, Jed heard someone shouting. Coming upon Rei's room, he saw the guy Chad outside it yelling for Rei to let him in.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jed asked waiting for Chad to reply. Chad looked at him and gave him a cold look. "Look, dude, this is none of your business. Rei and I just had a little misunderstanding that's all." Jed just smiled at the man and leaned against the building.

"I don't think you understand. Rei is my business and if you have hurt her in any way, I will make you pay." Still smiling, Jed watched as Chad started to look scared. All in all, he was just a man with big words who couldn't back them up.

With Chad still trying to think of something to say, Jed pushed himself away from the wall and pushed Chad away from Rei's door. "Rei? Rei, its Jed, open up." He said calmly and waited for an answer.

What seemed like minutes, Rei finally answered. "Please, Jed, just go away. I just want to be left alone." Her voice was raw with grief and tore straight through Jed's heart. He wanted to kill Chad for hurting her so bad.

Instead he settled for giving him a look that would make any man run for his life. Chad was no different, with one last longing look at Rei's door, he left without another word.

"Rei honey, I'm coming in." Luckily she didn't lock it, Jed thought as he stepped into the dark room. Even though it was bright outside, in Rei's room no light prevailed. Straining his eyes, he could see her huddled form in the back corner of her room.

Walking quietly to her side, he gently picked her up and put her in his lap. With surprise he noted that she was crying heart wrenching sobs. Rubbing her back, he whispered comforting words to her while she latched on to his shirt and cried.

Finally, she seemed to calm down and pushed away from his chest. "I'm sorry." She whispered averting her gaze from his. Lifting up her chin, he forced her to meet his eyes. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I'm just sorry that I couldn't have prevented you from crying in the first place."

Giving her a smile, he then asked in a soothing voice what had happened. "It was stupid really. I caught Chad in bed with another woman." Ignoring the cold look that appeared in his eyes, she continued. "I should have seen it coming. I had refused to take our relationship to another level. I wanted to wait until I was married to give that to a man."

Looking down again, she felt like crying again. He probably thought she deserved being cheated on. Knowing him, he probably already had tons of girls in his bed.

"Rei, it's not your fault. Guys like him don't deserve respectable girls like you. It was brave of you to say no and stand by what you believe in." Hearing him say those words, Rei gasped in astonishment. He was on her side?

"Now dry your eyes and let's turn on the lights. We still have a picnic to attend." Letting her get up from his lap, he gave her a dazzling smile. Stumbling just a little, he found the light switch and turned it on.

Rei was actually started to feel better. She couldn't figure out why she was crying in the first place. Maybe she had secretly feared that if an idiot like Chad could cheat on her, then how could she possibly keep a guy like Jed from doing the same thing. But having him comfort her seemed to quiet that fear and give her hope that maybe with him, it would be different.

After all, they had been lovers in the past. Smiling, she glanced up at Jed. Seeing the fiery look in his eyes made her breath catch in her chest. "Jed?" She hesitantly asked.

With a determined look, Jed started towards her. Instinctively, Rei took a step back but then caught herself and stood her ground. She almost flinched away when his hand grasped her chin.

"Did he do this to you?!" Jed almost shouted with rage in his voice. At first, Rei was confused but then she remembered hitting the chair. "Jed, I can explain." But Jed didn't listen. He started back out the door.

Catching his hand, Rei tugged and made him stop. "Rei, I will not allow anyone to harm you. Release me, so I can make this man an example of that." Rei refused to give up his hand and forced him to look at her.

Her smile caught him off guard and what she did next, not only surprised him but her also. She kissed him on the lips briefly. Jed, not missing a chance when he saw one, he grasped the back of her head and pulled her lips to his once more.

The passion raged between them and soon their kisses grew from being chaste to being filled with that fervor. Finally, they both pulled away giving just enough space for both to breathe properly. Jed's hands were entangled in Rei's luscious, black mane and Rei was absently twirling Jed's golden locks with her finger.

"You know, I'm still going to kill him for daring to lay a finger n you." Jed said lightly touching the bruise on Rei's face. Sighing, Rei explained what had happened. Jed was still fuming, but decided to spare him for her sake. But when she wasn't around, he was going to give that man the thrashing of his life for making her cry.  
"Rei, there's no turning back now. I'll give you the time you need to get over that man, but eventually we will be together." Jed declared looking into Rei's violet eyes.

Rei smiled at his oblivion to her feelings. "You fool, I don't need any time. I realized already that any feelings I had for Chad couldn't compare to the feelings I have for you. You're the only man I could ever want." With that being said, Jed's face lit up and soon the kissing started all over again.

Everyone held their breath, as the last punch fell and both fighters lay on the ground. Sailor Star Fighter had de-transformed back into Seiya and lay unmoving. Rini ran to Darien and helped him get back up. Darien had won the match. Travis cheered and went with Rini to help Darien stand again.

Cosmos watched as the others went to help Darien and decided he had enough help. Turning she searched for Seiya. Surprisingly, another man was already helping him up.

Travis and the others joined her and waited for the man to speak.

"You have passed the first test of strength. Choose who will be the next person because this test is a test of intelligence." The man spoke still supporting Seiya. "Who exactly are you?" Darien asked. "I am Seiya's brother, Taiki, and I will be whoever does this test's opponent."

Looking at each other, Cosmos spoke up. "Well, Darien's already eliminated since he has already competed. So that means it's just you and me." Looking at Travis, they seemed to size each other up. "I guess it's me then." Travis said with a sigh. "Yep, definitely." Cosmos said enthusiastically, happy to be off the hook on this one.

Sighing at Cosmos victory dance, Travis turned towards Taiki. "Let's get this over with." And with that, the second test started to begin.


	10. The Love Story of the Star Princess and

I actually got this chapter out pretty fast. I hope everyone likes it. If I confuse anyone, I'll be happy to answer any questions! Remember, I do not own Sailor Moon or the game show Who is the Weakest Link!

The Love Story of the Star Princess and Moon Prince

For the second test, Taiki and Travis went against each other in a series of mini tests. It was kind of like the game Who is the Weakest Link except it was down to the final two people. The questions were asked by one of the Dream Faeries in order to be considered fair.

The questions ranged from literature to mathematics and could be anything. Cosmos cheered at first, but soon lost interest and began to daydream. For some reason, Seiya looked vaguely familiar.

She could tell from where he sat on the sidelines that he thought the same too. He kept shooting curious glances at her that caused Darien to instinctively move closer to her. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore.

Seiya looked up when Cosmos sat down beside him. The battle with Darien hurt him more than he would like to admit.

"Hello, beautiful." He quietly acknowledged her presence with a dazzling smile. Confused, he watched as she continued to frown at him. Slowly the confusion turned to surprise as Cosmos raised one of her gloved hands to his face and slowly caressed it.

"Why does it feel like I should remember you?" The words failed to register in his mind since his mind kept wandering to other thoughts on uses for her lips. When the words finally penetrated the fog, he looked into her blue eyes.

"So you feel the same way too?" He couldn't tear his gaze away from hers. It felt like the whole world stopped and their surroundings faded away. As if a magnetic force drew them towards each other, their lips met in a tender kiss. Neither noticed that the second test was finished and everyone was staring at them in shock.

As their lips met, slowly the memory returned of their first meeting.

Silver Millennium

"_Princess Serena, where are you?" Luna called out looking for the troublesome girl. How her queen ever produced such a rotten brat, she would never know. It seemed like every time an important envoy was scheduled to appear, the princess came up missing. _

_Seeing Artemis up ahead, Luna met him. "Have you found her yet, Artemis?" Artemis shook his head no and assured Luna that Serena would show up eventually. "Grr…when I get my hands on that girl!" _

_The voices faded as the two cats continued on with their search. Princess Serena giggled behind the pillar and made sure the coast was clear before she stepped out of her hiding place. She was only six years old and she was already tired of meeting the old men that came from the other planets._

_The only time she ever enjoyed it was when her senshi was introduced to her. Next year, they were going to officially live with her at the palace and begin their training. She couldn't wait until then. _

_Sighing softy, Serena started walking to her favorite place in the castles; the gardens. It was almost spring and any day the lunar blossoms were going to start blooming. Stopping, Serena noticed a small boy standing in her section of the garden._

_He seemed to be admiring the lunar blossoms that she had planted. Curious and always open to make new friends, Serena ventured to the boy's side._

"_They are supposed to bloom soon." Startled the boy jumped into a fighting stance. Laughing, Serena put up her hands in a defensive matter. "I'm not going to hurt you!" Blushing, the boy puffed up his chest and said, "I wasn't scared. You just startled me a bit!" _

"_My name is Serena. What's yours?" Serena asked curiously studying his appearance. He was a little bit taller than Serena with long black hair tied in a low pony tail. He was wearing a red button up shirt with black tights. Looking down at his boots, the boy muttered, "My name is Seiya." _

"_Hello, Seiya. Do you want to play with me?" Seiya looked up at her in surprise and then smiled. "Sure." For the next hour and a half, they played hide in go seek in the small garden and then just resorted to chasing each other around._

_When they got tired, they fell to the ground and Seiya started to tickle Serena. Then, they just laid there and admired the peace around them. Soon that was all interrupted with Luna finding Serena and dragging her off. _

_Later on, when Serena was introduced to the envoys, she found out that Seiya was one of the people she dreaded meeting. He was there with his princess and two brothers. When her mother asked her where she had been, Serena proudly declared she was playing with her new best friend causing Seiya to be mercilessly teased by his brothers._

"Cosmos, what are you doing?!" Travis' voice broke their Cosmos' remembrance and caused her to break their kiss. Blushing beet red, she averted her gaze from Seiya and jumped back a few feet. She finally started feeling the weight of everyone's gaze and determinedly stared at her boots.

Seiya didn't have the decency to be embarrassed and just looked dazed. "Seiya?" Taiki angrily asked for his attention. Grinning at his brother, Seiya asked, "So who won?" This caused Taiki to become even angrier as he jerked his thumb in Travis' direction.

"So what's the last test?" Rini asked breaking the tension. She didn't understand why her daddy looked like he was about to murder someone and her uncle had a confused look on his face.

"The last and final test is the hardest. The final one is the test of courage and love and it will be against me." An unknown voice said diverting everyone's gaze from the couple.

"Yaten, great timing!" Seiya grinned suddenly in a great mood. Yaten just gave him a strange look and walked towards Cosmos. "Are you the last one of your group left?" With her nod, he held out his hand for her to take.

Hesitantly glancing at Travis for assurance, she took his hand and felt the earth quake underneath her. When she looked up, everyone had disappeared except for her and Yaten.

Silently she questioned him with her eyes and was answered by his voice. "The first two tests are nothing compared to this one. This final test will not only determine if you win the antidote, but will also decide whether you live or die."

At her gasp, he asked the unspoken question. "Do you still want to proceed?" Doubts plagued her mind and images of her friends filled her head. But then everything became clear when she saw Linda's face. With a determined voice, she said, "Yes."

"Okay, at the last two lessons, we covered how the silver millennium fell to Queen Beryl and how everyone came to be in this lifetime. Now, in today's lesson I am going to tell you the love stories of the couples of the Silver Millennium."

Erika grinned as hearts lit up in Mina's eyes and the other girls started to pay a little bit more attention. Today, the Generals had decided to sit in on her lesson and had prompted her to tell these stories. Of course, she could always get them to each come up individually and tell theirs, but she didn't want bickering to start and decided it was just easier to tell them herself.

"Well, the first story I'm going to tell is probably the best, well second best. Mine, of course, being the most romantic. It's the story of how the Princess of the Stars and the Prince of the Moon fell in love."

Silver Millennium

"Rei's going to kill us!" Linda shrieked as Serena got ready to pour the bucket of water on top of Rei's head. "Well, she shouldn't be flirting with him! She knows that you like him." Serena justified as she waited for the opportune time to drop the water.

Linda silently agreed as Rei continued to flirt with Prince Tranquility below them, but kept arguing just so she could appease her guilt. Just as Rei started to latch onto Tranquility's arm, Serena dropped the water and immediately hid from sight.

Linda mimicked her move and tried to stop the giggles that threatened to escape. Rei was furious and was screaming at the top of her lungs. They could hear the laughter in Travis' voice as he asked Rei if she was alright.

When they finally heard Rei stomping off, they peered over the ledge of the balcony they were sitting on. Linda felt her breath catch in her throat as her gaze was met by Tranquility's blue one. His eyes seemed to peer straight into her soul and filled her with a warm feeling.

Blushing, she averted her gaze unlike Serena who started laughing. "Did you see her face, Travis? She was furious!" Her brother just gave her a stern look and immediately started chastising her. "You know that wasn't nice, Sere. Rei is your friend, why would you do that to her?"

Serena gave him an exasperated look. "She should have known better! She knows that Li…" Linda immediately covered her mouth and gave Travis a sheepish look. "Uh, sorry, Prince Tranquility, but we have to get going now!"

Ignoring his confused look, Linda dragged the indignant moon princess away with her threatening her that if she ever told Travis her feelings for him, then she would be dead. Unbeknownst to Linda, she wasn't talking as quietly as she thought and Travis heard everything she said.

Later on at dinner, Serena and Linda almost died from trying to keep their laughter contained. All throughout the dinner service, Rei ranted about getting water poured on her and kept giving explicit threats on what she was going to do to the person who did it. Travis to his credit, managed to keep a straight face throughout the whole conversation.

The topic soon came to an end when Linda's birthday plans were brought up. Queen Serenity had gone out of her way to give Linda a huge sweet sixteen celebration. Linda's mom had died during childbirth, so to Linda, Queen Serenity was like a surrogate mom.

"I'm so excited for you!" Serena gushed with excitement literally sparkling in her eyes. "I hope you like the cake I'm baking you." Lita exclaimed. "Oooh, I hope lots of cute boys show up!" Mina added in with hearts in her eyes.

Linda sighed at Mina's typical hope for every event. "I just hope Erika can make it. I hope her mother gets better." Linda said with a tinge of sadness to her voice. "Don't think like that! Just think happy thoughts and I'm sure everything will turn out alright!" Serena chastised with everyone agreeing with her.

"I hope you don't mind, Linda. But I have asked Tranquility to escort you in the ballroom when you are announced at tomorrow night's ball." Queen Serenity asked at the head of the table. Linda felt like her dreams were coming true and stammered out that it was okay with her when truthfully it was more than okay.

She could feel the prince's gaze on her and felt like her whole body was on fire. Excusing herself from the table, she bid everyone goodnight. Immediately, Tranquility followed her example and left the table with everyone's eyebrows raised.

"Princess Lindakia, wait up!" At Tranquility's voice, Linda waited by her bedroom door. "Yes, Prince Tranquility?" She asked, waiting patiently.

The prince gave her a charming smile. "Just call me Travis. Prince Tranquility is way too formal." Blushing, Linda asked the same for him just to call her Linda.

"I hope you don't mind mother appointing me as your date. If you have anyone else you would rather go with, I understand." Smiling at his thoughtfulness, Linda assured him that there was no one else.

"Great. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night. Until then, sleep well princess." Kissing her hand softly, Travis went to his bedroom leaving Linda staring wistfully at his back. Suddenly she couldn't wait for her birthday to be there.

The next day went by fast and soon Linda was waiting nervously for Travis to appear. Her anxiety was high even though Serena kept reassuring her that she looked fabulous.

"You look great, Linda. I'm sure Travis' jaws going to drop at the sight of you!" Laughing Linda told Serena that she was starting to sound like the Goddess of Love.

Queen Serenity knocked on the door and opened it to look at her daughter and the girl who was like a daughter to her. Princess Serena was wearing a dress that looked exactly like her mother's but instead it was a light pink with a transparent silk layer with tiny moon patterns on the skirt. Her golden tiara sparkled on her traditionally hair styled head and light pink eye shadow accented her blue eyes.

Linda was wearing a golden dress that was strapless. The dress itself looked to be made out of star dust and shimmered when she moved. At her waist was a gold belt that was made out of tiny stars and moons. Her hair hung loosely to her waist with a gold silk head dress covering the top of her head. A tint of gold eye shadow accented her violet gaze.

"Come on, girls, your dates wait." Giggling at each other, they followed Queen Serenity to the doors to the ballroom. Linda peeked out from behind Queen Serenity and lost her breath. Travis was gorgeous.

His silverfish-blonde hair cried for her to rake her hands through it and his smiling blue eyes lit up at the sight of her. He was wearing his golden armor that had the moon insignia carved into the breastplate. The sword that was crafted specially for him hung at his side. At the top of his head was a crown made of the finest gold with rubies and other gems encrusted in it.

Queen Serenity discreetly stepped aside and allowed Travis to reach for Linda's hand. Kissing it softly, he said "My lady, your beauty can be described by no words." Blushing at the compliment, Linda muttered, "Thank you kind sir, but I'm afraid at your side I'm but a mere shadow."

Smiling, Travis just gave her a glance over that melted her insides and lifted an eyebrow. "I'm positive that no one will think of you as a shadow this evening." With that said he took her arm and escorted her down the stairs into the ballroom.

The evening flew by with Linda having the best birthday ever. She got wonderful gifts from all of her friends and some from people she didn't even know. She had decided earlier to keep only a few gifts and then to donate the others to the orphanage.

Erika had to decline the invitation since her mother still wasn't well, but Linda just took the disappointment as it came. Throughout the evening, Travis stayed by her side and allowed no other guy the luxury of dancing with her. His eyes never strayed from her despite the attempts made by every girl to gain the handsome princes attention.

Even when Rei had tried to get him to dance with her, he had politely declined and then became forceful when she refused to listen. To everyone, Linda's smile couldn't have been any brighter and whispers about the beautiful couple were heard throughout the evening.

Finally, Travis led Linda out onto the balcony. Breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the chance to be away from the crowd, Linda gazed upon the stars.

"Beautiful." Travis whispered breaking her attention away from the sky.

"Excuse me?" Linda asked almost afraid it was her imagination.

"I wanted to give you your birthday present away from everyone else." Travis said and pulled out a small box from out of no where.

Getting on his knee, Travis opened the small box. Linda gasped at the ring inside. It was a small silver ring with a diamond in the middle with a golden 'T' and 'L' on each side.

"Travis." Linda began, but couldn't finish the words.

Travis took the small ring and put it on Linda's finger and looked into her eyes.

"From the first time I met you when we were just little children, I knew you were special. Now I know that it's because you are my soul mate, the other piece of my heart. Will you be mine, Princess Lindakia?"

Tears filled Linda's eyes as she absentmindedly brushed them away. She jumped into his arms, giving him a bone crushing hug. Looking at his stunned face, she started laughing.

"You don't realize how long I've been waiting for you to say that." Then she sealed her answer with a heart warming kiss.

After that, the two became inseparable and after Travis' 17th birthday they were married in a beautiful ceremony on the moon. They had planned to wait until his 18th, but Linda's father was assassinated by a traitor for the NegaVerse and her brother had disappeared at an early age leaving the stars without a ruler.

By then, Serena was secretly being courted by Prince Darien of the Earth and the Generals were being paired with the Serenity's senshi. Erika had already married the Martian prince too. Ninth months after they were married their first daughter was born into the world and was named Rosalind.

Erika gazed at all the romantic expressions on all the girls' faces except for Hotaru's who was still too young to be into boys. The men had all spaced out except for Nathan whose attention stayed focused. "Well, you all know what happened after that. The NegaVerse came and destroyed everything."

"Whose story is next?" Mina inquired with a sparkle in her eyes when Erika quit talking. Erika looked thoughtful for a minute and then said, "Well I guess I can tell about my romance. Then after that I will retell all of your love stories. Finally, I think we'll leave Serenity's for last."

At that, the Generals and senshi shared a thoughtful look.

Suddenly Ami asked a question, "Where was Molly and Prince Darien's sister throughout all of this?" Erika thought for a minute looking at Molly in the audience and then answered. "Well I know Molly's story is a little difficult to explain."

"Molly was orphaned at a young age. Luckily her parents were friends of the Earth rulers and they accepted her as part of their family. When the Earth Princess, Rose, was in trouble one day; Molly's powers emerged to save her and she was shown to be Sailor Rainbow."

As for Rose, well, she became sick and had to stay in her bed for long periods of times. That's probably why most of you don't remember her." Erika finished and dismissed the class leaving everyone romanticizing about past loves.

Erika smiled when she realized no one had questioned her about Linda's missing brother. Nathan probably remembered what happened to him, but no one else caught on. Surprisingly Ami didn't even say anything. 'Well, I guess that's another story for another time.' She thought to herself.

Back in the Dream Plane, everyone looked around for Cosmos and Yaten who had mysteriously disappeared. Trying not to be too worried, they decided to wait and pray for Cosmos to pass the final test.


	11. The Love Story of the Martian Prince and

Hello, everyone! Well I've been busy with college and work and just haven't had the time or energy to update. So here is an extra long chapter to hold you over until I can update again! Standard disclaimers.

The Love Story of the Martian Prince and Sun Princess

Seiya was getting annoyed at Darien's constant glaring. It had started after Cosmos and Yaten had disappeared and everyone decided just to wait to see what happened. Gritting his teeth, Seiya tried to keep his cool and just look away.

His thoughts kept coming back to the kiss he had shared with Cosmos. At first he was confused to why he had remembered the first meeting with the moon princess when he was kissing Cosmos. But then he had looked into Cosmos' eyes and it was just like looking into Serenity's eyes and he knew they were the one and the same.

That could explain why the Earth Prince kept glaring at him, but he had a feeling that Darien didn't know who Cosmos was. Which would explain why they weren't together, but then that just led to the question of what caused that.

Finally the constant questions and Darien's glare pushed him to the limit. Standing up from his seat and turning to stare at Darien, Seiya angrily shouted a question, "What the hell is your problem?!" In an instant, everyone's attention was on the two.

Darien seemed to lose his control of his temper and angrily stood up too. "You're my problem." He stated with a glare. Travis started to move in between the two and felt the obligation to result the feud. Ever since Cosmos and Seiya had kissed, Travis had a feeling something like this was going to happen. The same thing had happened back in the silver millennium.

_Flashback to the Silver Millennium_

"_Travis! Oh, Travis, you have got to help me!" Serenity's voice echoed down the hall, causing Travis to stop in his steps and turn around. Immediately, he started running back to her, worry evident in his voice. "Sere, what's the matter? Are you hurt?"_

_Tears fell freely from Serenity's face and caused her blue eyes to sparkle. "Travis, they're fighting! And I don't know what to do. They won't listen to me!" _

_Already, Serenity was tugging Travis back towards the courtyard. Travis already knew what was going on. He had a feeling those two were finally going resolve the issue of Serenity's love with a fist fight._

_Allowing Serenity to drag him along, Travis heard the two before he actually saw them. Already they were black and blue from various punches and kicks from each other. He could only sigh with the relief that they hadn't thought to pull out their swords. _

_Hurrying to the two, Travis warned Serenity to stay out of their way. He didn't want her to accidentally get hurt from a thoughtless punch. Tearfully watching from the side, Serenity cried for Travis to hurry up._

_Travis approached the two with caution. He could tell from the fire in their eyes that words would not resolve this issue. Instead, in two seconds he had kicked the legs out from Darien and had Seiya pinned down by holding his arm against his back. _

_He had chosen to hold Seiya down since Seiya was the more temperamental out of the two and Darien was more likely to think rationally. Seeing that he had both of their attentions, he chose his words carefully._

"_Now, I know that both of you love Sere, but this is not the way to solve this issue. I would ask Sere to choose, but that would be putting her in a position, I would rather not have to do. So we're going to talk this out rationally and try to come to a decent conclusion." _

_Carefully letting go of Seiya, Travis moved in between the two men who were still glaring at each other. Before he could say anything, Serenity had moved beside him and was giving each a look that sent their eyes turning shamefully to the ground._

"_You are both very dear to me and if anything would have happened to either of you, I don't know what I would have done. Fighting never solves anything; it only causes people to get hurt." Her voice had a hard edge to it that caused both men to fidget. _

"_Princess, I have to know. Which of us do you love?" Darien turned pleading eyes towards her that cut through Serenity's heart. _

_For once Seiya was silent and instead mimicked Darien's action, looking at Serenity with expectancy. Travis felt sympathy for his younger sister and knew she could never make a decision because she knew that would hurt one of the men she cared deeply for._

"_I cannot choose one of you two. You are both very dear to my heart and fulfill me in different ways. To choose would one of you would be cheating my heart and I cannot do that." With that said, Serenity started crying into her open hands. _

_At once, both men stepped forward to comfort her, but stopped when they seen the other doing the same thing. Travis felt another fight coming on and resolved the issue by gently pulling Serenity into his arms to weep while rubbing her back and whispering comforting words. _

"_I want both of you to go somewhere to cool down before you even think of approaching Serenity." Travis warned and watched as both struggled with some inner war before disappearing in different directions. _

_Back to present_

After that, Seiya died when Beryl conquered his home planet. This was preceded by Princess Serenity going into Darien's arms for comfort and falling madly in love with him. Travis mused for a minute on what would have happened if Seiya hadn't died, but decided he didn't want to know.

Rini's gasp at the fight that was about to start, prompted Travis back into the present.

"Listen, I do not want the two of you to start fighting. Not only should both of your minds be on wishing Cosmos the best of luck, but it is not a good idea to show in front of a child that fighting is the answer to problems." Travis lectured and watched as both took his words into consideration.

With a sigh of relief, the two backed down and sat in opposite directions with their backs turned to each other. Glancing up, he saw Taiki nod at him and returned it with the vague hint of a smile. Taiki would watch over Seiya and make sure he stayed out of trouble and Travis would watch over Darien.

Sitting where he could keep an eye on the both of them, Travis let his thoughts travel back to Cosmos. He felt useless just sitting there when he should be cheering her on, but he couldn't help that. Right now, the only thing he could do was pray that she could win this test and he could heal his beloved.

Back at the Silver Moonlight Castle

Erika had let the group have a break and then had called them back in to start the next story. Her emotions were mixed about telling her love story to the class, but she had promised them. It was just hard that she still hadn't found her love in this time like Linda had.

"Now, this time I will tell you the story of how the Sun Princess fell in love with the Martian Prince." When everyone's attention was focused on her, especially Rei's, Erika began her tale.

Silver Millennium

"I hate balls! Why do I have to go again?" Princess Erieka demanded of her exasperated mother who looked a little pale. Her father chuckled at his little tomboy and quickly coughed when his wife glared at him.

"It's all your fault, Apollo. She should have never learned how to wield a sword or climb trees! If I had my way, she would have been crafted into the perfect lady by now!" Apollo turned innocent eyes to his wife and started to proclaim his innocence in the upbringing of his daughter.

Ignoring him, the Sun Queen turned her glare to her sulking daughter. "And you, young lady, are going to this ball and enjoying yourself. If I hear any complaints from you or see you sneaking off to the garden's again, I am going to ban you from the training grounds for an entire month!"

Gasping at the thought of not training, Erieka silently fumed but complied nevertheless. Marching towards the carriage that awaited them, Tatiana glared at her wayward family who reluctantly trailed behind her.

The trip was short and before Erieka knew it, she was standing behind her mother and father waiting to be introducing to the crowd. She already knew everyone's eyes were going to be upon them throughout the night.

Her mother was known for her outstanding beauty and her father was considered one of the most handsome men in the galaxy. Her mother had long, brunette hair that glittered with golden highlights from the sun and remarkable green eyes that turned to the deepest black of the night when she was angry. Tonight the gold dress she wore brought attention to the golden highlights and accented her slim figure.

Her father was light brought into human form. His skin was bronzed from the many years in the sun and his hair was pure gold. His eyes were amber with gold around the pupil. The centuries of fighting had sculpted his form into that of a God. He wore the standard gold armor of the Sun.

As for Erieka, she knew she was not as beautiful as her parents, but wasn't considered ugly. Her hair was a lighter shade than her mother's with streaks of blonde trailing through it. Her hair was short since it tended to get in the way of her fighting and her eyes switched from light brown to a dark green. She was told that when she used her powers to their greatest strength, her eyes mimicked the amber of her fathers.

Tonight she wore a simple white dress that clung tightly to her top half but flared out from the waist. The fan she was supposed to use to write down her dancing partner's names hung around her wrist. Hopefully she wouldn't have to use it.

As soon as she was announced, Erieka scanned the crowd and felt her some of her cheerfulness return. She had spotted Serenity, the Moon Princess, and all of her senshi except for Rei, and Rose, the Earth Princess. Tonight, she would at least have a few friends to help fend off the boring night.

Serenity gave Erieka a huge hug and smiled in delight at seeing her friend. Erieka managed a small smile for her and for the other girls. "Come on, cheer up, Erika! Tonight is a night for celebration and fun."

Erika gave a small laugh. "For you, Sere, any night is fun. But I absolutely hate balls, you should know that."

"I always wondered why that was, Erika." Lita asked with curiosity in her voice. The other girls nodded in agreement.

"It's just that I hate being surrounded with so many lying faces of people who are about as fake as their smiles." Erika muttered. The girls nodded in sympathy, they all had the same feeling but they had learned to accept what could not be changed.

After that the girls left the issue alone and one-by-one they all disappeared off to the dance floor leaving Erika alone. She had taken the first dance to please her mother's watchful eyes, but had declined after that. Lazily she watched as Serenity danced with grace with the Earth Prince and the senshi each danced with the Earth Prince's generals.

Even Rose who usually stood by Erika's side was staring blissfully with a guy that Erika had never met.

Now with everyone else off enjoying themselves, she felt the need to walk the gardens. She had first made sure that her mother was thoroughly occupied by her winking father and then she quietly disappeared into the night.

After attending so many balls, she was familiar where the gardens were at each planet. Usually it was slightly crowded with the many couples scattered throughout the trails and with a start, Erika realized how early she had escaped.

She hadn't even waited for the Martian Royal family to be announced.

'Oh well, it's too late to go back now.' She thought to herself. Besides she had met all of them at one point or another except for the Martian Prince who had been gone every time she had visited. She had heard rumors about his good looks from Mina, but had never gotten the pleasure of meeting him herself.

Humming softly, she slowly walked the hidden paths that led to the royal family's personal gardens.

One time she had convinced Rei to show how the paths, so that she could view some of the rare markiline flowers that only bloomed on Mars. They were flowers with red petals that opened up to reveal real a flame in the center.

They were rare to find since they caused fires that ravaged for hours on end.

Suddenly, Erika's trained instincts alerted her of another presence in the royal gardens. Standing still for a moment, Erika could hear distinct male cursing from just in front of her. The garden's lights were not yet lit, so Erika could barely distinguish the form of a man.

He was about a few feet taller than her and that was saying something since she was considered tall for a woman. Erika debated silently with herself on whether or not to announce her presence until the decision was suddenly made for her.

The stranger turned around and stared right at her. At that exact moment, the globes that served as lights lit up and filled the entire gardens with light.

Erika felt her breath catch in her throat at the sight before her. The man was what Mina would call delicious.

He had red hair that reminded Erika of flames and violet eyes that seemed to sear straight into Erika's soul. He was very muscular and was wearing a black tuxedo with a red undershirt. Remembering her manners, Erika curtsied to the gentleman.

"How do you do, sir?" Erika mildly asked, not really caring for an answer. The devilish grin that the stranger gave her made fire shoot up from her stomach.

"I was doing fine, but now I am feeling great. May I ask what a beautiful young woman like yourself is doing out in the gardens all by herself?" Even the man's voice was like silk that melted through the barriers Erika had built around her heart.

Mentally scolding herself for standing so long without replying, Erika was amazed at how her voice came out steady and calm even though her innards were shaking.

"Why trying to find some peace and quiet, of course. Besides, I have a yearning to gaze upon the beautiful markiline flowers that are the stars of this garden."

The man smiled once again and in one smooth motion, had linked together their arms.

At Erika's curious and somewhat guarded expression, he quickly explained. "Please allow me the pleasure of escorting such a beautiful woman to the center of the garden to view those flowers." Seeing no harm in the simple gesture, Erika allowed him to lead her to the place she knew the flowers grew.

It still amazed her that such a wonderful man had taken an interest in her, but deduced it was from him just being a gentleman. It would, after all, be rude to leave a lady out in the middle of the night without any form of protection.

For the next couple of hours, Erika found out that not only he was handsome, but he was also very intelligent and had a remarkable sense of humor. It wasn't until they were about to leave that Erika realized she didn't know his name.

Laughing at her thoughtlessness, Erika was just about to remedy that situation when a crash interrupted her thoughts.

The man immediately put Erika behind his back and took a protective stance in front of her. In seconds, a huge youma stood in front of them. It had the form of a giant spider with the upper half body of a woman. Erika figured she was the rampaging youma that had killed innocents in the last week.

"Watch out, she may have poison in her fangs!" Erika warned her protector, just before he pushed her to the ground as a string of web shot at them. Immediately he pulled her up, only to jump with her in his arms to the top of the ledge that surrounded the gardens.

"Stay here." He told her and before her eyes a sword appeared in his hands. The hilt was made out of metal, but the blade was of fire. With a start, Erika realized that it looked like a twin to her own blade.

Erika watched for a few seconds at the man battling the youma before she called forth her own powers. In a glitter of lights, Erika transformed into her battle persona, Sailor Sun. Ignoring the surprised look of the man, Erika pulled out her own sword and started to charge at the youma.

Ducking under the spider, Erika managed to cut off two of her legs before jumping to safety to avoid the poisonous fangs.

Looking for the man, Erika had a surprise of her own. The man was now wearing the battle armor of the Martian royalty. Almost laughing, Erika realized she had just spent the last hours with the Martian prince.

Reading the intent in his eyes, Erika took her position. In a synchronized movement, they each attacked on different sides of the youma, slicing parts off in just seconds.

Panting slightly at the effort, Erika watched the youma carefully. It was screaming in fury and was down to its last two legs. The other legs were thrown all over the garden.

Nodding at each other, the two fighters started forming their energy from their swords. Their voices echoed in unison as they called forth their powers. In an instant, they both jumped in the air with their swords glowing a fiery red and sliced an x through the youma.

All that remained of it after the fight was dust. Calling off her transformation, Erika looked at the Martian prince. He had returned to his former attire too and was scrutinizing her in the same exact manner.

"I am Princess Erieka of the Sun. It was a pleasure to meet you." Erika once again curtsied. Smiling softly, the man bowed and kissed her hand after saying. "The pleasure was all mine as well as the pleasure of fighting with such a magnificent warrior. As for my name, I am the Prince of Mars, Prince Ares."

"Shall we return to the castle to inform someone of this mess?" Ares said, once again taking Erika's elbow into his. "I believe that is a fantastic idea." Erika said, smiling at him.

After that, Ares courted Erieka which made Erika's mom genuinely happy that her daughter was acting more like a lady instead of a boy. On Ares twenty-first birthday he announced his intention to make Princess Erieka his bride.

Their wedding was postponed since Erika's mom became very sick and they hoped she would get better. But unfortunately, her life was called in the middle of night, leaving her husband and daughter heartbroken.

The Sun King died not even a couple months after his wife's death from a broken heart. The last thing he did before he died was walk his only child down her wedding aisle. With both of her parent's gone, they were announced the new king and queen of the sun.

Back at the present

Erika wiped the tears from her eyes that had appeared after remembering her mother and father's death. Even though it was a different timeline, she still missed them.

"Okay, meet again in the next hour and I will tell you another love story." Erika said, leaving the room before any questions could be asked.

Back in the Dream Plane

Cosmos was alone in mist that covered everything. She could barely see her hand in front of her face and Yaten had mysteriously disappeared. Rubbing her cold arms, Cosmos decided to venture forth.

Before she could get far, the mist started to lighten and she spotted a figure walking towards her from the distance. With a gasp, she realized it was Sailor Mars.

"Oh look, it's the Moon Brat." Mars sneered, laughing at Cosmos' surprised face. "What, you didn't think we would figure it out? You're more stupid than I thought." Mars continued.

"We knew what happened to you that night we ran you off. We just didn't care." Putting her hand on her hips, Mars made the motion of flipping one hand through the air.

"A good leader would have been able to fight a whole league of youma and still be there to help their comrades. Wouldn't you agree, Jupiter?"

Out of the mist came another figure and was quickly joined by two others. Now Cosmos had all of her previous senshi in front of her.

"I agree with you, Mars. Besides, who would want a crybaby for a leader anyways? The only reason you even got to be leader was because you were the reincarnated moon princess." Jupiter said maliciously.

"Why if we had our way in the beginning, Mars would have been leader. She would have made a perfect leader and the best girl for Darien too. I mean I think we all felt sorry for him for having to be stuck with you." Venus added.

"He must have been surprised when he found out you were the moon princess. Who would have thought that instead of a serene, graceful, intelligent lady like Serenity was, he would be stuck with the stupid, lazy, annoying little girl like you." Mercury stated as a matter of fact.

Cosmos felt the tears gather and then felt a little annoyed at the thought of crying. She had long gotten over their insults from years ago and had prided herself on how much she had changed. No long was she the crybaby who whined over fighting and instead had managed to transform into her ultimate form that she wasn't supposed to achieve for centuries to come.

Before they could start insulting her again, Cosmos smiled and added her comments.

"I am no longer that girl that you once knew. I am stronger and a better person that I was back then. Nothing you can say can diminish my spirit or make me feel less of a person." Battling at the emotions threatening to overload on her, Cosmos felt in her heart for the right words to say.

She had been waiting a long time to say these words and even though she knew these weren't her real senshi, she still felt like they deserved the truth that she had never even shared with herself until this moment.

"I know that I wasn't really leadership material and cannot really blame you for holding that against me. I tried to be the best person that I could have been, but sometimes that isn't enough and other attributes have to be added." Moving closer to the senshi, Cosmos continued.

"I forgive all of you for the things that you said to me all those years ago. I can even go to say that in the future, we might be friends one day. We may never achieve that closeness that we held once, but we might come close to it. And I can't say the hurt has gone away, but I understand your reasons for saying those things."

After she was through, there were tears in all of the senshi's eyes and slowly they all disappeared. With a start, Cosmos realized she was crying too.

Yaten's voice boomed in the mist. "You have passed that small test, but there is still more to come." With that said, a light appeared in the distance, beckoning Cosmos forth. At the light, there stood two people and with a sudden dread, Cosmos realized what her last test was.

Standing by the light was Darien and Seiya with both looking at her expectantly. In unison, they both chanted. "You must choose one of us to stand by your side. Choose and do it now!" With the same feeling all those years ago, Cosmos knew with a certain doom that she would not be able to make that decision and only prayed her friend's life wasn't through because of it.


	12. The Love Story of the Earth Generals and

Hey everyone! Ok, I know that it has been a long time since I've updated, but I just haven't had the time or energy to continue this story until now. Please accept my deepest apologies and I hope you enjoy the chapter! Standard disclaimers!

The Love Story of the Earth Generals and Moon Scouts

_Recap: In unison, they both chanted. "You must choose one of us to stand by your side. Choose and do it now!"_

Cosmos gazed upon the eyes of the two men that she had loved with all of her heart. Focusing on Seiya, she remembered the devastation of losing him in the battle against Beryl. If it hadn't been for Darien, she would have never pulled herself out of that depression.

Back in the Silver Millennium, she had tried to choose between the two men in her life. She knew that she was doing both of them an injustice by paying favor to both and not picking one man to stay with, but her heart wouldn't allow her to pick one over the other.

She could always count on Seiya to make her laugh or go get into mischief with while Darien was always there encouraging her on and saving her whenever she got into a mess that she couldn't handle by herself.

Now gazing upon their two pleading faces, she wished she could come to a decision. Technically it should be easy to make since Darien screwed her over this lifetime and she had never met Seiya until now, but her old feelings from the Silver Millennium had resurfaced and were causing trouble again.

Yaten's voice boomed once again from out of no where causing Cosmos to clutch her head in pain. "You must choose, Serenity! Choose one man to value above the other in your heart!" Darien's and Seiya's voices joined his and they slowly started to walk towards her.

Shaking her head in denial, Cosmos tried to focus. 'Darien or Seiya? Who do I choose?' Their voices were getting louder and it was becoming harder and harder to focus.

'Without Darien and me, there is no Rini.' Picturing the smiling, pink headed girl that would forever be engraved in her memory, Cosmos smiled and brushed a tear away. 'Still that can't be the only reason to choose him.'

Screaming, Cosmos cried out, "I wish I didn't have to choose between you!" Suddenly, the booming voices stopped and Cosmos was transported to the room that held Linda. Nathan was asleep by her side, holding her hand.

Their hands were glowing and Cosmos realized that he was sharing his energy with her to sustain her life force for a little bit longer.

Cosmos walked to the other side of the bed and gently pushed Linda's hair out of her face. The once vibrant, tan skin was now sickly pale and each breath that was inhaled seemed to take a little bit more out of her.

Her body was thin and her facial bones were enhanced. Looking backwards, Cosmos could see the mist where the two loves of her life stood waiting for an answer.

Yet if she didn't give one, her friend would die and it would be all of her fault. It wasn't in Cosmos' nature to be that selfish, but it also wasn't in her nature to deny the wishes of her heart.

Finally, the burden became too much for her to bear alone. She collapsed to her knees beside Linda's bed and began to cry.

Heartbreaking sobs echoed throughout the room, but still silent in the real world. Suddenly, she felt someone murmuring soothing words and patting her head.

Looking up through bleary eyes she saw the faint form of Sailor Star standing beside her. Searching the bed, she saw that Linda's body still lay there breathing raspy breaths.

"Star?" Cosmos whispered confused on what her being there meant. Star shook her head at the weak body on the bed and motioned for Cosmos to get up. Leading her out of the room and back into the mist, Star began to talk.

"I'm sorry, Sere, for what distress my illness has caused you to endure. If I had known what you would be put through, I wouldn't have let you come."

Shaking her head in denial, Cosmos stopped and gazed at the sad eyes of her friend. "I would do anything for you, Star, and you should know that by now."

Star gave her a small smile but gestured towards the two guys waiting in the distance. "Even choose, Sere? Choose one when I know that you would rather die first?"

Cosmos just looked down once again, contemplating her situation. "No, I could never ask that of you. Not even to save my own life. Choose, Sere, if that's your desire, but if you don't want to. Don't let the fear of me dying stop you. I would rather die than have to watch you suffer with a decision that you're not happy with."

"I am blessed to have you as a friend, Star. Thank you so much. I think I know what I have to do now." Turning away from her friend, Cosmos marched determinedly towards the men.

Smiling sadly at Cosmos, Star turned and watched as her body took one last rattling breath and then stopped.

**Back at the Silver Moonlight Castle**

Erika looked at the expectant faces of her class. Everyone, except for Nathan, had returned. She had already told Linda's & Travis' love story and her own, but now she had to choose another one.

Smiling slightly, she said, "Well I would like to tell everyone's love stories individually, but there is the small problem of time. So I'm going to combine the stories by starting with the initial meeting of the Inners and Generals."

Erika watched as the Inners shyly smiled at their counterparts, except for Lita, and the Generals smirk in return. "And this is how the Princess of the Moon's scouts and the Prince of Earth's generals found love with each other…"

**Silver Millennium**

It was the sixteenth birthday of the prince and princess of the Moon and the whole kingdom was celebrating. This year, the Earth prince was invited and he was bringing his generals.

"What are they doing?" Serena whispered as she peered through the bushes at the men.

"What? I want to see! Move out of the way!" Lita eagerly pushed Serena out of the way to look at the men herself. Squeaking, she turned and faced the other girls with a bright red face.

"What's happening, Lita?" Mina asked as one by one the girls caught a glimpse of the men.

"Guys, it is very wrong for us to be spying like this!" Ami rationalized while trying not to look too noticeable that she was trying to peek another glance.

"Its only wrong, Ami, if they notice that we are here." Lita countered with a grin on her face. It wasn't everyday that hot guys were bathing nude. Actually, the girls were coming for their daily swim in the hidden lake that they had found when they noticed that their usual hangout was already vacated.

"Shh! Guys, you have to lower your voices or..." Serena was cut off when a man's voice started talking. "Or, they'll find you spying on them." The man finished.

All the girls froze and slowly turned towards the man talking. He had his pants back on but his muscular chest glistened in the sunlight. Absentmindely, the girls wiped the drool from the side of their mouth.

Thinking quick, Mina gave the man her best, stunning smile and blew a kiss at him. Dazed, the man belatedly noticed that all the girls had disappeared.

Later on that night, Princess Serenity was in her room getting prepared for the birthday celebration with her scouts watching. "Oh my gosh, I thought I was going to die from embarrassment when that guy caught us!"

Mina, the princess of Venus, immediately started laughing along with Serenity while Rei, the princess of Mars, and Lita, the princess of Jupiter, just cracked smiles. Ami, the princess of Mercury, who had always been the most sensible one of the group, frowned at the Moon princess.

"You know, Serena, that probably was the most stupidiest thing that we could have done. What if they recognized who you were? That would not have looked good on the moon kingdom." Ami rationed causing Serena to frown.

"Oh come on, Ames. Lighten up, it was just harmless fun. Besides, I saw you sneaking peeks too." Serena argued back.

The maid, who was trying to curl the princess' hair, tugged her head back to staring into the mirror. "Please, princess, keep your head straight or your curls will be lopsided."

Sighing, the princess tried to argue and keep still at the same time. The other princesses were already ready just chuckled at the princess' pout.

"Yeah, Ami, she has a point." Mina said in defense of her princess.

"She's right. Plus, they were pretty hot!" Rei inserted.

Lita dreamily smiled and started to daydream. "If only we could meet them again..."

They all laughed at that and then changed the subject to the ball until Serena was finally declared ready.

"The Queen Selenity of the Moon Kingdom." The Queen descended into the ball room and sat on her throne. The Queen had on her usual white gown and her silver hair was in the signature style for the royal family.

"The Prince Tranquility and Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom." The twins stepped into the room of clapping audience and smiled. The prince and princess were dressed in matching outfits in the grand theme of silver to enhance their ethereal presences.

The princess had her hair down for once with her long, golden strands curled in ringlets. Her dress seemed to be made out of star dust with long, see through sleeves and a bodice that clung to her upper half but flared out at the waist. A dainty tiara sat upon her head signaling her status. Her brother wore his silver armor that had the family crest engraved in it.

Immediately, the princess searched for her scouts and saw them standing next to the thrones. They were easy to spot since their respective family colors set them apart from the silver of the moon.

Lita wore a simple, green dress that had tattered, short sleeves and a short, tattered skirt that enhanced her muscular thighs and laced up boots. Her wavy, brown hair was worn down for once and tactfully kept out of her eyes.

Mina had elegantly dressed herself in a golden gown that glittered when the light hit it. The straps were thin and showed off her dainty shoulders while the gown seemed to show off her curves while still being respectful.

Ami seemed to be a part of the ocean itself with a modest ocean blue gown that had different layers built into it to seem like a wave crashing into the sand. Her trendy cut blue hair was graced with two simple, pearl barrettes.

Lastly, Rei's fiery nature shown in her choice of a gown. The gown seemed to shift into different shades of red as she moved and clung tightly to her matured body. Her long, raven black hair was pulled into an elegant French twist at the top of her head giving people a grand view of slender neck.

The dance passed fairly quickly with the announcement of the earth ambassador, prince, and his generals. Since, it was the twin's birthday, they had to play the role of prince and princess and dance with anyone notably important.

"This is such a drag." Lita exclaimed as the moon princess was once again asked to dance.

"I haven't spoken to Serena since the night begun. Every time she has a free moment, someone else gains her attention." Rei agreed.

"Well, just because we can't celebrate Serena's birthday with her, doesn't mean that we can't enjoy it ourselves!" Mina exclaimed, the always optimist of the group.

"Mina's right. We should enjoy ourselves. Serena would want us to instead of sulking in the corner." Ami said.

Everyone looked at Ami, who just started blushing. Usually, Ami would be the last one to want to dance or do anything remotely fun.

"Okay, fess up Ami. Who is he?" Lita threatened, eagerly scanning the room for anyone notably interesting.

"What? Ami has a crush on someone? Who, where?" Mina exclaiming, jumping at the chance to play match maker.

"Guys, please. You're causing a scene." Ami tried to get the two girls from causing a commotion, but both were looking like chickens with their heads cut off.

"Excuse me, ladies, but my friends and I were wondering why a beautiful group of women were stuck in the corner when they were meant to be shown off on the dance floor?" Both Lita and Mina immediately turned to the source and started blushing.

The same group of men that they had been spying on were waiting for a response from the love struck teenagers.

The girls didn't know whether to approach the topic or try to act innocent. In the end, their choice was made for them.

The four men were cloaked in matching black tuxedos with different colored undershirts. One man had long, silver hair down to his waist and startling blue eyes. Another had golden-brown hair pulled back in a simple low ponytail and intelligent green eyes scrutinized the ladies. Short, blonde hair with blue eyes and long, brunette hair with green eyes described the remaining men.

The short blonde haired man that had spotted them at the lake winked at them, suggesting that no one else but him knew that the girls had been the ones spying on them.

"May we at least have the pleasure of knowing your names?" The silver haired man asked.

Flustered, each girl spoke their names in a rapid transition leaving the men confused on the specifics. Smiling, the generals introduced themselves, both parties conveniently forgetting what planet they actually came from or who they were protectors of.

Soon, each couple were dancing on the dance floor, blissfully unaware of anyone except the person they held in their arms.

**Back at the Silver Moonlight Castle – Present Day**

"Wait a minute, that can't be the end of it. What, we just lived happily ever after?" Lita asked outraged at the abrupt ending.

"Yeah, what about Serena and Darien? Didn't they have a problem with it?" Rei asked in a confused tone.

Erika laughed at the confusion of the room. "Of course, there were issues that had to be resolved and some certain people had to come to terms with the new arrangement, but everyone knows that you cannot stop true love."\

"So, Jed, why didn't you tell us that they were the ones who spied on us that time? We thought an enemy was on the moon kingdom!" Zack asked angrily.

Laughing Jed just shrugged and said he wanted to spare them the embarrassment.

Before anyone could say anything else, they started to hear shouts from the main rooms.

"That's Linda's room!" Erika shouted in realization and immediately starting running with everyone trailing behind her.

Nathan was crying beside Linda's bed and was vigorously trying to pour his own life force into her still body. Rushing to his side, Erika slapped their hands apart. Her heart skipped a beat at the dead look in his eyes.

"You have to stop, Nathan. If you keep doing that, you'll only succeed in draining your own life energy!" Erika stated slowly, giving him time to digest what she said.

Falling to the ground, he collapsed burying his head into his hands.

"I can't lose her. Not now, after I just now found her." Nathan said in despair. Lita immediately rushed to his side and held him, giving him the comfort that he needed.

Ami quickly assessed the situation and started to give CPR to Linda. Tears were soon running down everyone's face as the situation became clear.

"No, why does it have to be this way?" Nathan screamed.

A bright light started to appear and slowly enveloped the entire room. Cosmos appeared out of the bright light and held a flower in her hand.

She slowly scanned the theme of the room and her face started to fall, but then her determined nature won and she hurriedly ran to Linda's bedside.

Darien and Travis appeared behind her along with Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki.

Kneeling beside Linda's bedside, Cosmos put the flower to her lips and watched as the nectar drained into her mouth. Minutes started to pass and nothing happened.

Tears started pouring down Cosmos' face as realization set in. "No, Linda. Please wake up. Don't tell me I was too late." She whispered and started to sob.

Time seemed to stand still as everyone shuffled out to leave Cosmos and Travis with the body of their friend. Travis seemed to be in a state of perpetual shock and couldn't digest the fact that his beloved was dead.

Cosmos, still tired from her journey, had cried her self to sleep by Linda's bed.

Gazing down at his beloved's face, Travis bent forward and trailed his knuckles down the side of her face. Tears gathered in his eyes and his face fell apart.

"Don't leave me, love. Not when we just now found each other. Without you, I don't know how I'm going to survive. I just love you so much that it even transcends time. Please don't go."

Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on her cold lips. Memories flew through his head dating back from their first kiss, to their wedding and the birth of their child, to just recently being reunited in this time.

Raising his lips from hers, he looked down at his beloved's face with a confused gaze. Suddenly, she started grasping for breath. Surprise filtered into his eyes and then a radiant smile spread across his face.

Linda was alive.

**Somewhere else**

"We are sorry, master. We have failed in our missions." Momo and her twin, Lela, kneeled down in front of the black coated figure.

"Imbeciles, how hard is it to find the second jewel holder and capture a little girl?" The figure shouted in anger.

Cringing at the murderous glare, the two women kneeled lower and begged for forgiveness.

"Never fear, my pretties. I know who has the third jewel." The crystal behind the dark figure started to shimmer and a picture appeared.

"We will retrieve it immediately, master." In seconds, both women were gone.


	13. The Princess of the Moon Returns

Hello everyone! Alright I have no excuse to why there is such a huge gap between chapters. All I can say is life got in the way and I'm just now learning to prioritize things better. I have to remember how to write again and get a feel for the characters. I feel a little disconnected from the SM series. It's been forever since watching any of the movies or episodes. So if the characters seem OC then that's probably the reason why. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

_Standard disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon._

**Chapter 13: The Princess of the Moon Returns**

"My head is killing me." Usagi cried while attempting to get up from bed. The last couple of weeks had been calm with no sign of the enemy. Linda had been saved by the antidote and was slowly recovering.

Everyone was getting along well and even the pairing of the Inners and Generals didn't bother her anymore. Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki had left shortly after arriving. In return for helping with the tests, they were given an item to help find their missing princess. Usagi felt sad to see Seiya go but she understood he had a duty to his princess that came first.

Rolling over, she looked at the calendar and sighed. Today was Darien's and hers old anniversary and coincidentally the day the scouts betrayed her. At that thought, the pounding in her head became more insistent and the idea of sleeping the day away started sounding better and better.

Not even an hour later, knocking came at her door. Trying to ignore it, she rolled over and put the pillow over her head. The sound of the door opening came next and little feet hitting the floor.

"Usagi?" Rini's voice came at her side forcing a reluctant acknowledgment from her.

Rolling back over and removing the pillows, Usagi looked at her future daughter. "Yes, Rini?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me something." Rini asked timidly, twiddling her fingers in front of her.

Sitting up in bed, Usagi ignored the need to stretch.

"Of course, Rini. You can ask me anything." Usagi said knowing there was no way she could lie to her daughter if she guessed her identity.

"Is Serena alright? I don't remember why she left, but I know it's because of something the girls and Darien did to her. I just need to know that she's ok…where ever she is." Rini said with each word breaking Usagi's heart.

Discreetly wiping away the tears in her eyes, Usagi gave Rini her best reassuring smile.

"Serena is just fine. She's just not ready to show herself just yet. I have a feeling though that she will soon." Usagi said. Rini smiled back and jumped up to give her a hug.

"Thanks, Usagi!" After that Rini left, leaving Usagi feeling even more despondent about the day.

Later on that day, Usagi was aimlessly walking the streets. She was feeling the need to confess her identity to everyone and to visit her parents. Unfortunately, she didn't know if that was the right thing to do. There were still people targeting the moon princess and if she was revealed, then who knew what kind of trouble would happen.

Startled, she found herself once again at hers and Darien's old bench. If she looked hard enough, she could see Darien smiling at her and holding out his hand. She used to love sitting there by his side with her head on his shoulder without a care in the world. It didn't matter that they were together in the past, all that mattered was how they felt now.

Walking closer to the bench, Usagi found to her surprise that Darien was actually sitting there. His head was bowed into his hands and he didn't even acknowledge her presence.

"Darien?" Usagi asked, almost afraid to talk to him on such an emotional day.

Whipping his head back, Darien stared at her with wide eyes. Then he slowly slouched back down and gave her a sad smile.

"For a minute there, you sounded like someone else. Have a seat, please." Darien said, waving his hand to the empty spot next to him.

Usagi could see that his cheeks were wet and instantly her heart went out to him. Doing a double check, Usagi pushed back the feeling and hardened it. He had every reason to feel this way. He's the one who pushed her away after all.

"How are you doing, Darien?" Usagi asked.

"Usagi, what was the final test in the Dream Land?" Darien asked, ignoring her question.

Taken back, Usagi thought about what to say. "They were trying to force me to choose between two people that I greatly care about."

Something flashed in his eyes and he tensed, but Usagi missed what it was.

"Who did you choose?" Darien asked quietly.

"No one. My heart is mine to give freely. Not to be forced into making decisions that I will later regret." Usagi said with a smile.

"Ah, that's a good decision. No wonder you were able to pass." He said returning her small smile.

"So, are you going to tell me what the problem is?" Usagi asked after a few seconds of silence.

Staring straight ahead, Darien waited before replying.

"Today was Serena's and mine anniversary. She was my world and I just threw her away like she was nothing."

Usagi sighed and nodded.

"The sad thing is, I don't even know why I did it. I loved everything about Serena. Even everything others would call faults like her frequent clutz attacks or how much she loved food and sleeping."

"Then why did you say those things to her?" Usagi asked quietly, not wanting to believe what he was saying but hoping deep down that it was true.

"That's the problem. I keep remembering that night and I can't phantom why I would say those things. It's like someone else took control of my body and forced me to say that. I was angry at the enemy that night and when Rei started yelling at Serena, all my anger and frustration went out on her too." Anger laced his words and Usagi was becoming more and more inclined to believe him. But if an enemy was really behind all this, then did she play right into their hands by leaving?

"I just wish I knew where Serena was so I could make this all up to her. To make everything go back to the way it was." Usagi placed a hand on his shoulder as he regained his composure.

If what he said was the truth, then none of this really was his fault.

"Darien, I have something I need to tell you." Usagi said. Darien looked her in the eyes and Usagi started to lose her train of thought. He had the most beautiful blue eyes. It was the first thing that attracted her to him.

"Yes, Usagi?" Darien said feeling the attraction and leaning in closer.

"No way! Do you see that?" Mina said pointing her finger at the duo on the bench.

Rei, Lita, and Amy looked to see where she was pointing and almost dropped the ice cream they were eating.

"What does he think he's doing?" Rei asked angrily, already stalking to where the pair sat.

"Of all the days for him to start making moves on her! When we are so close to finding Serena."Lita said just as angry.

"Guys, wait up! It might not be what it looks like!" Amy tried reasoning, but her voice fell on deaf ears.

*Back to Usagi and Darien*

Darien couldn't believe what was happening. He had realized what day it was this morning and had almost not gotten out of bed. He had already taken the day off and told everyone not to page him.

But he had to attend a meeting at the Silver Moon Castle later so had finally gotten up. Somehow he had found himself at his and Serena's old bench. He started to remember the good times they had and couldn't handle the sadness anymore.

Then Usagi had appeared and the feelings he was trying to bury for her started to resurface. He felt a pang of jealousy when she confessed what the test was about and for a minute wished that he was one of the people she talked about.

Telling her about what happened with Serena lifted a burden off his chest and made the day not look so bad. She looked at him with the same blue eyes that Serena had and before he knew it, they were almost kissing. Just one more second and…

"Darien!" Guiltily, he moved back to the other side of the bench and glanced at Usagi's dazed face. Both of them moved to look at Rei and the rest of the Inners confused faces.

"Hey, Rei." He said, not knowing what else to do.

"Is that all you can say after what you two were about to do? What about Serena? You know what today is. After all the times we had to stop you from committing suicide on today and all it takes is for…" Rei was interrupted midsentence at Usagi's shocked gasp.

"Why would you try to take your own life, Darien?" Usagi asked, tears in her eyes.

"Serena was my life. How could I go on without her in it?" Darien asked sadly.

"You can't make someone your entire life, Darien. You have to learn to live for yourself." Usagi said, clutching his hands.

"Get your hands off of him. Geez, you can't even leave him alone for a minute. And here I thought you were supposed to have Serena's best interests at heart." Mina said looking as if she wanted to remove Usagi's hands for her.

Usagi felt her blood began to boil and tried to chant calming mantras in her mind.

"I think you two need to calm down and mind your own business. Darien and I are adults and can make our own decisions on what's right and wrong. We do not need two busybodies helping us."

Turning away from them, Usagi looked back at Darien but could that their words were already taking their effect on him. Her opportunity to tell him the truth was gone for now.

Standing up, Usagi glanced at the girls and then did a double take. Behind them, someone was being chased by a nasty looking youma.

"Help me!" The girl being chased screamed as she passed them by. Usagi stared in shock along with everyone else as they saw it was the missing moon princess.

*Elsewhere*

"And she's been like this for how long?" Linda asked Erika while gazing down at Rose's sleeping face.

"According to the nurse, about six months now. They are debating on whether to take her off life support now or wait a bit longer." Erika replied sadly.

"Darien doesn't know?" Erika shook her head no.

"He disappeared after you were brought back and has been busy catching up with his duties as a doctor. No one has been brave enough to mention yet to him that he has a sister he didn't know about who's also comatose." Erika continued.

"How do we help her?" Linda asked sadly wishing Travis was there to comfort her.

"I don't know. I really don't know." Erika said.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Pushing the blinking button on their communicators, they were both surprised by Cosmos' tired face.

"Guys, I need you to get to the mansion a.s.a.p. Things just got very interesting." After the cryptic message, her face disappeared.

"Let's go." Erika said and with one last lingering glance on their old friend, they left.

Later they arrived at the mansion and were directed to the meeting room. Everyone was gathered including Molly. The Inners and Darien had huge grins on their face while everyone else looked a bit more suspicious.

Usagi was at the front with a grim look upon her face.

"Now that everyone's here, I have some disturbing news." Waiting for everyone's attention to be directed her way, Usagi continued.

"Princess Serenity was found earlier being chased by the enemy. We were able to rescue her."

Instantly, people were shouting and exclamations of disbelief sounded throughout the room. Raising a hand, everyone instantly quieted and Usagi gestured behind her.

Luna and Artemis parted behind her revealing the missing princess. She looked just as she did when she left all those years ago except she was wearing a plain white dress similar to her princess one.

Usagi gestured for her to come near the front. Everyone watched with a held breath as the princess wearily got up and stood by Usagi. The resemblance between the two was apparent side by side with the only difference being hair color and hair style.

"Princess Serenity, please tell us how you were captured by the enemy." Usagi said and stepped back from her.

Twisting her fingers, the princess peered under blonde eyelashes at the room.

"All I remember is being chased by this scary looking youma. This man, he was clothed in a dark robe, kept telling me to come back. But I knew he was evil and that I needed to escape. I can't remember anything else." She said with tears in her eyes.

Immediately, Darien ran to her side and grabbed her by the arms.

"I'm so sorry, Serena. For everything that happened and what I said to you. I never wanted you to leave. Please, please forgive me." He said the last part on his knees with his head bowed.

Everyone waited to see her reaction and when she stayed silent, Darien lifted his head to look at her. Tears were streaming down her face with a look of confusion clouding it.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are. I don't remember anything before escaping!" With that outburst, Serena started sobbing with her face in her hands.

Darien immediately had a crushed look upon his face that made Usagi want to comfort him, but she stayed fast in her position.

"It's alright, Serena. We will help you remember." Darien said comfortingly.

The Inner scouts had the same devastating looks on their faces as Serena confirmed that she did not remember them as well. Luckily Rini wasn't there as well since Usagi thought it necessary to keep her out of this for now.

"Linda, do you think you can restore her memories?" Amy asked when everyone settled down.

Linda had a thoughtful look on her face but then shook her head. "No, I think in this case that it would be best for the princess to remember by herself. The memory loss might be from a concussion or from blocking a traumatic event. Either way, I would feel better if we knew why she had the memory loss before messing around with her head."

Everyone nodded at the logic but the hopeful looks were gone. Then Rei's face turned to fiery rage.

"Wait a minute, I thought Serena was in your custody? I thought you said you were protecting her and that she was safe?" Rei screamed at Usagi, stalking to her until they were almost face to face.

Immediately, Linda and Erika rushed to her side and the Outers tensed.

Usagi held up her hand to them and gave Rei a sad smile.

"I understand your anger, Rei, but I do not know how the enemy found her. We had her in a safe compound where no one should have been able to guess her identity."

Her words did not seem to placate Rei so Usagi turned to Serena. Getting to one knee, Usagi bowed before Serena.

"I am sorry, Princess Serenity. I failed you." Usagi said and felt everyone in the room do the same thing as her.

"We all failed you, Princess." Everyone but the Inners and Darien said, mimicking Usagi.

Lifting her eyes so she could peek under her eyelashes at Serena, Usagi saw the sorrow on Serena's face and stifled a gasp. She could detect no evil on the princess' face.

"Please, everyone, get to your feet. There is no need to feel this way. I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation to why this happened. I know you all did the best you could to protect me." Serena said as everyone slowly followed her order.

"Thank you, Princess. Once again you have shown how pure at heart you are." Usagi said keeping her eyes on the Serena's face. Still she could detect nothing but empathy at the situation.

Turning to Rei and the others who still looked suspicious, Usagi gestured to them and said, "I am sure the princess must be exhausted at her journey. Why don't you all give her a quick tour and escort her to one of the spare rooms? Travis, you can go with her and maybe one of you can jolt her memory."

The Inners, Darien and Travis nodded and escorted the princess out. Travis gave Usagi one last lingering look before the door closed.

With an expression of pure exhaustion, Usagi collapsed in her chair and rested her face in her hands.

As the last footsteps from outside faded away, Amoura broke the silence. "Can someone please tell me what the hell that was?"

Usagi lifted her head at her and replied, "The missing moon princess, duh."

Laughing at the look she earned, Usagi smiled.

"I'm assuming the enemy does not realize that Cosmos is the real princess and thought they could infiltrate our camps by sending a look-a-like." Zach volunteered.

"That's my guess as well." Usagi agreed.

"So what are we supposed to do with her?" Erika asked not quite getting what's so funny about the situation.

"I say we lock her up and see what information we can get from her." Amoura said smashing her fists together.

"Amoura!" Michelle said with astonishment.

Laughing at Amoura's chastised look, Usagi shook her head. "No there's something off about this situation. I was observing her the whole time and I honestly do not believe that she knows she is a fake."

Confusion created a tense atmosphere in the room.  
"What do you mean, Usagi? That she is a clone or puppet?" Molly asked.

"I think that might be it. I don't sense evil from her. The question is how they were able to make the clone and what her purpose for being here is." Usagi answered and then gave Trista a questioning glance.

Trista shrugged and looked off into the distance. "I have not been able to see into the future for a while now. The gates of time are closed to me. But I would assume that she is here to get information and the rest of the rainbow crystals."

Everyone turned to look at Linda who tried to hide her fear. "I would rather not have that happen again. It was horrible feeling something being ripped out from within my soul." Covering herself with her arms, Linda tried to stop shaking. Nathan went to her and gave her a hug.

"We won't let that happen to you again." He said gently.

Usagi looked away at the sibling exchange and gave everyone else a stern look. "Until we know for sure what is going on, we have to continue playing along. By the way, thank you all for following my lead earlier. We have to make her believe that we are fooled by her appearance and we definitely need the Inner scouts and Darien to believe that we are on their side. We cannot have them running off with the imposter in fear that we are the bad guys. But we cannot leave them alone with her either. One of us has to be near her at all times. And if you feel like something suspicious is about to happen, then you contact me. Am I clear on this?"

Everyone nodded even though most still had looks of confusion and apprehension on their faces.

"It's the only option we have left. They believe she is the moon princess and will fight us to protect her. We have to let them find out on their own that she's a fake." Usagi finished and dismissed everyone. She prayed that she was doing the right thing by letting the enemy stay in their midst.

Before Trista left, Usagi motioned for her to come near.

"Trista, I need you to take Rini away from here until this all blows over." Usagi said quietly.

"I do not see how that will be possible if Rini finds out about Serena showing up." Trista said.

"Do not tell her then, we will tell everyone else that we don't want to overwhelm Serena by telling her about a future daughter she has. Please, I do not want Rini getting hurt and I know you don't either. I don't think I can protect her if she stays here." Usagi said her voice breaking in the end.

She just found her daughter, but now she had to lose her again to keep her safe. At least this time she would not have to worry about her.

Trista nodded and left to start on her mission.

Usagi dropped her head to the table and watched the door. With the way her day was going, pretty soon something else was going to pop up and blow her mind away.

Sure enough, Linda poked her head in. Seeing Usagi was alone, she allowed herself inside and gave Usagi a small smile.

"Hey there." Usagi said picking up her head and looking at her friend. Travis appearing really made a change to Linda's life. Now she didn't have the dark circles under her eyes and there was a glow about her. Usagi missed having that glow and regret kicked her in the stomach. If the enemy was behind everything, they were going to pay.

"Hey." Linda said and then gave her an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry I have to bring even more bad news but I really don't have the time to wait." Taking a deep breath, Linda continued.

"We have to tell Darien about Rose and I think you should be the one to do it."

Usagi gave her a stunned look. She knew Darien deserved to know about his sister but why did she have to be the one to tell him?!

Seeing her confusion, Linda explained, "I have seen the way you have been looking at him." Cutting off Usagi's denial, Linda said. "You cannot deny that you miss him and still love him. It's not that evident to most people, but those closest to you have picked up on it. We have also seen the way Darien looks at you and Travis told me what happened between him and Seiya."

"Usagi, even if Darien doesn't know who you are, he still feels the connection you two have together. You being the one telling him might lessen the blow and maybe help him decide what he wants to do about it."  
"What do you mean do about it, Linda? What haven't you said?" Usagi asked, the feeling of apprehension growing.

Looking away, Linda said, "The doctors are giving up on her. Pretty soon they are going to take her off life support and then she will die. She has no living relatives that they know of that will take responsibility for her so they can do whatever they want with her. Only Darien can prevent that from happening and he has to do that soon."

Usagi nodded and soon Linda left. Everything was getting too difficult to deal with alone. Times like this were when she was glad to have someone to hold her and tell her everything would be alright.

Sometimes she hated being the leader. Not only did she have to deal with the imposter claiming to be her, but now she had to deal with telling Darien he has a sister who is also comatose because her rainbow jewel was stolen and is about to be taken off life support which means she will die. Then she has to worry about who contains the other two crystals and how to save them if their crystal is taken. And if the enemy was behind the scouts telling her off all those years ago, then can she really stay angry at them and blame them for what happened?

Feeling another headache coming on, Usagi groaned and wished her mother was there to help her.

"Headache?" A voice came to her right and she saw Darien staring at her.

Sighing at him, Usagi nodded and straightened out her form. Ever since the moment at the bench, she no longer felt the drowning sense of sorrow that she used to feel at the sight of him. It was like she could breathe again and feel her heart beating.

"I have some medicine if you need some." Darien said pulling up a chair beside hers.

"No, I'm fine. It's just from all the stress and enemy attacks." Usagi said waving him off.

He gave her a worried look. "I know we only just met, Usagi. But I feel like I've known you my entire life. If there is anything that you need to talk about, I'm here for you."

Feeling her heart break a little, Usagi said, "Well there is this one thing, Darien."

Not sure how to start off, Usagi waited a minute then said, "How much do you remember from the Silver Millennium?"

Confused at the direction she was taking, Darien thought for a minute. "Um mostly I just remember the time I spent with Princess Serenity. It seems like everything up to the moment I met her was like a dream. Like I wasn't ever fully awake and living. Then I met her and everything brightened up and became clear. She gave me a reason for living and from then on, it all became about making her smile."

Usagi felt her heart jolt at the loving way he talked and the wistful look in his eyes like he was reliving those times, but that wasn't what she wanted to hear right now.

"Do you remember your family during that time?" She asked.

With a pure look of concentration, Darien struggled to remember his family. "No when I try to remember them, all I can see are glimpses of a man and woman who dark hair and loving smiles. And a….I see a little girl with black hair in pigtails twirling around me."

Giving him a sad look, Usagi said, "That's your sister, Darien. Her name is Rose."

A startled expression spread across his face and he gave her an incredulous look. "What do you mean I have a sister? Did she die in the car crash that killed my parents too?"

"I don't know how you and Rose came to be apart. She could have been in the crash or she could have never been with you in this life time. All I know is she grew up in the same orphanage as Linda and Erika. Then they lost track of her until now."

Darien waited for her to continue but Usagi hesitated. He looked so hopeful staring at her and waiting to hear where his sister was now.

"She's in a coma, Darien. She was one of the rainbow jewel carriers and the enemy already got it from her. Pretty soon the doctors are going to pull her off life support." Usagi grabbed his hands and gave him an encouraging smile.

"But you can save her. You're her only living relative and you can take responsibility for her. You can make them keep her on life support until we figure out how to bring her back. And I promise you, Darien that we will find out how to do that." Usagi said.

"Please say something, Darien." Usagi said after he stayed silent.

"I don't know what to say, Usagi. You're telling me that I have a sister this entire time when I thought I was alone. I have missed so much time with her and now I failed to protect her when she needed me the most."

"Please don't blame yourself. I never knew about…I mean Travis never knew about Serena until he met us. And they are twins. This is no one's fault and now we can make sure neither of you are ever alone again. We will defeat the enemy and bring Rose back so you two can be family again."

Feeling his inner turmoil even if he wasn't outwardly showing it, Usagi finally stood and pulled him into a hug. His arms tentatively wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. For once in a long time, Usagi felt complete and lost herself in the moment. She wanted to remember how this felt in case it never happened again.

She felt the dampness of her shirt where his tears silently fell. She rested her chin on his head and smoothed his hair with her fingers. Soon she felt him start to draw back.

His eyes drew her in and she felt the pull from the park again. Licking her lips unconsciously, his eyes immediately focused there. A blush crept up in her face and she felt like a school girl again. Even after she left, there had been no one else but Darien that garnered her interest. Well everyone except that moment with Seiya. She had tried to be attracted to other guys in her class and attended parties, but she couldn't make herself feel anything for any of them.

Now she could feel the heat flushing through her from his stare and the spot where his hands rested. From the smoldering look in his eyes, she knew it was affecting him as well.

"Usagi…" Darien whispered and moved his hands a bit up her waist. Usagi bit her lip and rested her hands on his shoulders. She could feel herself moving closer to him like she was being pulled in. The little voice in the back of her mind was telling her this was not the time to be doing this, but Usagi hushed that voice up.

Usagi absently wondered if her illusion would hold up if they kissed, but decided it was worth finding out. "Darien…" She whispered and it came out sounded more like a sigh.

Closing her eyes, Usagi felt the faintest touch on her lips before she was roughly pushed away. Confused, she opened her eyes right before Serena and the Inners walked in. Darien was staring at the wall with a grim look on his face with clenched hands.

Removing her eyes from him, Usagi plastered on a smile while Rei and the others tried reading what happened right before they came in. Serena smiled back oblivious to the tension and gestured to the Travis who was hidden behind everyone.

"My brother," Laughing softly, she smiled at him, "I can't believe I have a twin! He was going to show me to my room but then didn't know where you would want me." Shrugging at the thought, Serena gave her a hopeless look.

'She's either really good at her acting or she's really sincere.' Usagi thought but couldn't help to return the smile. Not sparing a glance at Darien, Usagi said, "Of course. I would love to help." And went to show Serena a room...right across from hers.

Darien looked at the two girls leaving and couldn't help but justify his actions. Usagi almost looked like Serena's twin and he felt a connection similar to the one he felt with Serena. He just couldn't control himself near her.

"Darien, what's going on with you?" Mina asked when he still hadn't said anything.

"Yeah, it's not like you to be acting like a love sick pup." Lita added.

Growing angry at their words, Darien calmed himself down. "It's nothing. She just told me some disturbing news."

"Darien, we are here for you no matter what. You can trust us to have your back or help you through rough times." Mina said growing concerned at his dismal state.

"Thanks, guys. I'm sorry to put you through so much since Serena left." Darien said feeling guilty at his anger. He wasn't the only one going through hard times.

"So what did she tell you to upset you?" Rei asked when no one else seemed like they were going to.

"She said I have a sister." Ignoring their gasps, he continued. "She's in a hospital near here and was one of the rainbow jewel carriers."

"What do you mean was? What happened to her?" Amy's questioned stood out over the rest.

"She's in a comatose state and will be taken off life support soon…that is if I don't go over there and claim responsibility of her." Darien answered.

"Well then go do that! Sounds simple enough." Lita said.

"That's not it though. What if she wasn't born my sister in this time? What if the DNA test shows we are not blood related and I can't do anything to stop them from killing her?" Growing angry again, Darien stood and put his hands on the wall.

"Darien, we can't afford to let our doubts overtake us now. Not when we just got Serena back and have allies in our fight. We will go with you tomorrow and get this straightened out. Even if you're not her blood brother, we can still find a way to save her. Maybe they will let you pay for her continued care until we can find a cure." Amy said gently. Darien looked at her and nodded. "Thanks, guys." He said.

"Princess, may I ask you something?" Usagi asked while she walked beside Travis.

"Please don't call me that. Serena is fine." Serena said. "But what do you want to ask?"

Sparing her a side glance, Usagi asked, "What happened to the silver imperium crystal? Did the enemy find it?"

Stopping Serena had a horrified look at her face, "I don't know what happened to it! What if the enemy did get it and that's how I escaped? Because they didn't need me anymore?" And with that Serena started crying and fell to the ground.

Usagi covered her ears at the baby like screaming and gave a look at Travis that meant 'shut her up'. All she could think was 'no wonder everyone hated it when I cried if I sounded like that!'

"Shhh….Serena. It will be alright. I'm sure the enemy doesn't have it. And they wouldn't be able to use it even if they did." He said consolingly and eventually she stopped crying.

"Are you done?" Usagi asked slightly peeved that her headache had returned.

"Yes." Serena said with a chastised look.

"Here's your room. You will be staying across the hall from me in case you ever need anything or attacked. You can scream and I will hear you. Or you can just run to my room." Usagi said.

"Of course, thank you so much for helping." Serena said and disappeared inside with her exclamations of how great the room was echoing until the door was closed.

Travis gave Usagi a look and she just rolled her eyes and pointed towards her room. Once inside, Usagi dropped on her bed and stifled a scream with her pillow. Travis sat beside her and rubbed her back.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked.

"Travis, am I doing the right thing? Allowing her to go on pretending to be me and fooling the Inners and Darien?"

Travis waited a moment for answering, mulling around the different choices.

"I think this is the only option you have. If you call her out to be an imposter then you have to reveal your true identity. You also risk any advantage we have over the enemy. If you try calling her out without revealing your identity, then they won't believe you and might try running away with the imposter."

Usagi nodded. "That's what I was thinking. I think there's something strange about all of this. She doesn't seem evil."

"I know what you mean, she's different. Like she's an actual clone of you that was imprinted with your personality." Travis said shivering at the thought.

"There's something else too." Usagi could feel her cheeks reddening.

"Something with you and Darien?" Travis guessed. Startled Usagi wondered how many other people have figured out something was going on. Reading her look, Travis grinned. "It's so obvious. You can practically feel the tension when you two are near each other."

Grimacing, Usagi said, "He almost kissed me…twice, but we were interrupted both times." Touching her fingertip to her lips, she could almost remember how it used to feel kissing him.

"But now is a bad time to try to rekindle that relationship. With the imposter showing up, Darien is going to be as distant as ever."

"Well, at least now you will know if he wants to be with you for you or for the fact you used to be Princess Serenity." Travis suggested.

Processing his words, Usagi thought it over. "So you are saying if he gives up the imposter Princess Serenity for me…then he really did want to be with me for me. Not because we were together in another life. Travis, you are brilliant!"

A huge smile blossomed across her face. This was the solution she had been searching for ever since Darien once again appeared in her life. This would be the best way to see whether or not they were ever meant to be together.

"Of course, I'm brilliant! I'm your brother." Travis said right before he started tickling her.

"Travis! Stop tickling me!" Usagi screamed trying to get away from him.

Passing outside the room, Darien was trying to find Serena when he heard laughing. It sounded vaguely like Serena and Travis so he knocked on the door. Instead he was greeted with a very rumpled Usagi and laughing Travis.

"Darien." Usagi said with a smile.

Darien looked questioningly between the two and decided he didn't want to know. Jealously was leaving a bitter taste in his mouth and he was still confused about his feelings for Usagi.

"Did you need something?" Usagi asked closing the door behind her and leaving Travis out of the conversation.

"Yeah, where is Serena's room?" Darien asked ignoring the downfallen look on Usagi's face.

Pointing to the door across from her room, Usagi said, "Right through there."

Darien nodded and turned to go, but stopped when Usagi said his name.

"About today…" Usagi started until Darien stopped her.

"I'm sorry about that, Usagi. I was lonely and with Serena being gone and today being our anniversary, I wasn't thinking straight. It won't happen again." He said turning his back to her, missing the tears welling up in her eyes.

Brushing them away, Usagi maintained her voice. "Alright, Darien. Good night then."  
"Good night, Usagi." With that Usagi went back to her room while Darien stood there for a few more minutes with clenched fists. For some reason, that just felt wrong to him. Instead of going to Serena's room, he just went back to his. He had some things to think about.

Leaning against the door, Usagi felt the tears fall down her face and Travis scoop her in his arms. With Darien's words echoing in her head, it felt like her heart was breaking all over again. She needed to be stronger if she ever wanted to survive the next couple of weeks.


	14. Nearing the End

Standard disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. Have a happy thanksgiving!

Chapter 14: Missing Pieces

"This is ridiculous! We are fully capable of protecting Serena by ourselves." Rei screamed throwing her hands up in the air.

"Rei, calm down. They make a good point." Amy gently said while laying a calming hand on Rei's shoulder.

"But then again, they were the ones who let Serena get captured in the first place. I mean, how did they not know she was missing?" Mina contemplated, putting her finger to her chin in thought.

Punching her hand, Lita looked at the rest of them. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of sitting on the sidelines. We were Serena's protectors first and we need to regain our rightful spots. I'm with Rei on this one. We should be allowed to start guarding her again and take her outside this damn mansion!"

"What's going on in here?" Usagi's voice interrupted their arguments but brought more tension.

"And where is the princess?" She added as an afterthought when she noticed the missing girl.

Sighing at the glares she was receiving, Usagi gave Amy a look reminding her to be the sensible one.

"She's with Travis in the kitchen. He said he was testing to see if her appetite changed any since we last saw her." Smiling a little to herself at Serena's tendency to devour everything in sight, Amy answered her.

"And what are you four doing in here then? Isn't your job to protect the princess?" Usagi asked sensing she should have just walked away in the first place.

Screaming in frustration, Rei turned her anger towards Usagi.

"And how are we supposed to do that when every attempt we make to do so is stopped?" After the outburst, her anger fled her and she hunched over slightly in weariness.

Looking at the others and seeing the same tiredness, Usagi sighed. She knew it would only be a matter of time before they started rebelling. The scouts were just young women after all. They couldn't stand to be secluded and locked up like this for long.

"I understand that it is difficult to stay hidden like this and not be able to help the princess regain her memories. But it is very dangerous right now for her to be out there and frankly, you all are not strong enough to protect her from the enemy. And right now everyone else is too preoccupied with trying to find out more about the enemy than to babysit you."

Seeing the anger she inflicted again, she raised her hand to silence them before they could have any more outbursts. "But luckily for you, today I'm free. So what are we doing today?"

They all gave her incredulous looks and silently communicated with each other. Usagi waited with a smile on her lips that was slowly falling with every second. She was beginning to wish again that she had just walked away. Luna always told her that she was too kind and once again, she was putting herself in an awkward position to please others.

Making up her mind to just walk away, Usagi started to turn away. "Wait, Usagi. We would love it if you could accompany us." Mina said with a bright smile. Usagi smiled back and almost felt like her old self again.

"Just don't get in our way." Lita glowered before walking away with the rest of them. Well she was almost feeling like her old self again.

It turned out that the scouts wanted to take Serena down memory lane in hopes of jogging her lost memory. They were going to take her by the school, the old arcade, the park and other places they knew she visited frequently. They had contemplated taking her by her parent's house but Usagi rejected that idea. There was no way that her parents were going to be fooled into also believing the imposter.

"This is so exciting! I can't believe we are all here again." Mina giggled as she skipped slightly ahead of everyone.

"Yeah, it's been a long time since we've had the old gang back." Lita smiled and lifted her arms behind her back. "I almost feel like we are in school again just starting to learn what our powers were."

"I just wish I could remember some of it." Serena said with a sad look on her face.

"Cheer up, Serena. We will find something that will jog your memory." Rei said with a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks, Rei." Serena beamed up at her and started to skip with Mina.

Usagi walked slightly behind everyone else and watched the scene before her. She could remember how close her and Rei used to be when they weren't bickering with each other. Rei would always know when she was down and say just the right thing to cheer her up. Now, her friends couldn't even recognize her and were trying to help an imposter.

"And this is our old school. Maybe running up to it would jog your memory." The girls laughed at the inside joke and then explained to Serena how late she always was to school.

"You should have been on the track team! We would always see you running up the stairs in a mad dash to get to class on time." Lita said while laughing.

Usagi smiled a little and remembered how it was always hard to wake up on time. But then again when you're fighting youma in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, it is hard to wake up at the crack of dawn for something like school.

"Serena! Serena, is that you?" Looking behind her, Usagi saw a guy with spiky hair and glasses running up to her.

"It is you! I just knew it. Molly said you were gone but I knew you would come back eventually. Oh, Serena, I've missed you so much!" Wrapped in the guy's embrace, Usagi tried to think of how he knew her.

"Melvin, that's not Serena. This is Serena right here, you twerp. Get your glasses checked out!" Molly's voice registered in Usagi's mind and then she remembered Melvin. The geek that Molly dated for a short while until he cheated on her with another girl.

Smiling a bit, Usagi let Melvin hug her until he too registered Molly's words and looked behind her at the imposter.

"Oh," Giving Usagi another hard look and then Usagi, Melvin finally let her go. "Sorry for that." He said rubbing the back of his head. Smiling at the imposter, he said hello again and then ran off.

"That was strange." Mina said and looked over at Usagi as if trying to see through her glamour.

"I guess you two do look alike." Amy said with the same puzzled look.

"Hey, guys! What are all of ya'll doing here?" Molly said breaking their scrutiny of Usagi.

"Hi, Molly. We are trying to show Serena around our old hangouts to see if she remembered anything. Do you want to join us?" Mina asked.

"Nah, I'm out shopping with the fiancé. I just heard Melvin and thought I would help out poor Usagi here." Giving Usagi a sly look, Molly continued. "Ya'll have fun though! Let me know if you remember anything, Serena." Waving goodbye, Molly left.

"Serena, do you remember him any?" Rei asked and then realized that Serena was looking at something else and not paying any attention to her.

"Do you want some ice cream, Serena?" Lita asked and grinned at the saliva dripping from Serena's face at the little kid's ice cream cones.

"Let's all go get some ice cream then!" Lita shouted and ran after Serena as she took off laughing.

Usagi followed at a distance but this time Amy stayed with her.

"Come on, Serena. Choose a flavor please! The line is getting long." Rei said trying not to rush her but growing more and more irritated.

"Sorry, Rei, but they all look delicious! I can't choose!" Serena whined and Usagi had about enough.

Stepping forward to pick something for the girl, she was stopped when a smooth voice said instead, "1 scoop of everything, please."

Her eyes grew wide when the man behind the counter had to put all the scoops into a giant bowl that barely held the ice cream.

Serena's eyes grew wide with delight at the ice cream and even Usagi felt a little envy at the girl's treat. Handing the money to pay for the ice cream, Darien held it out to Serena.

"Thank you so much!" Serena beamed up at him earning a return smile from Darien. Usagi felt like a stranger at that moment and wished she could disappear. How was she supposed to compete with someone who was identical to her past self when she herself was a totally different person now?

Forgoing the ice cream, Usagi chose instead to sit back and watch in awe like the growing crowd as Serena at the ice cream in a few minutes. She could hear the crowd whispering in amazement at the feat while Serena stayed oblivious to them.

Did she really act like that when she was younger? Deciding she did want an ice cream cone after all, she stood to get one but stopped when one appeared in front of her mysteriously.

Behind the cone, Darien smiled at her and offered it to her. Taking it hesitantly, she watched as he headed back to Serena who was now complaining of a brain freeze. Feeling the drip of the cold ice cream on her hand, Usagi started to lick the cone. It was like watching a movie. Everyone was laughing around her while she entertained them with her childish antics. No hard feelings were seen on their faces except for love and affection for the golden head girl. At that moment, Usagi wished she was that girl.

Usagi found herself accompanied beside the scouts on the way back while they walked behind Serena and Darien to give them a little privacy. By this time, they had already saw most of the usual spots with nothing jogging Serena's memories. It was growing dark, so they decided to finish the rest of the tour another day.

"Usagi, why do you think Serena's memories are gone?" Amy asked after a moment of silence.

Shrugging her shoulders, Usagi said, "It could be a number of things. She could've had some kind of head trauma or maybe something happened to her and she's trying to block out the memories." At that suggestion, most of them shuddered and gave worried glances at Serena.

"Or maybe she's not who she says she is and is fooling everyone." The last part burst out and Usagi's eyes widened as she tried to cover up her own surprise at saying it.

"What do you mean? Like she's the enemy trying to confuse us?" Rei asked stopping and looking at Usagi with animosity in her eyes.

"Rei, calm down. Usagi was just going through all the scenarios and that just popped up. She didn't mean anything by it." Amy said worried at the tension between the two.

"No way! I think we would know if she was an imposter." Lita said vehemently.

"Usagi, what's wrong?" Amy said noticing Usagi's intense look. Usagi's face was contoured in an expression of concentration and her eyes were closed.

"Shit." Was all Usagi said before she took off towards Darien and Serena. The scouts fell in behind her and soon they surrounded the confused duo.

"You better transform if you want to be of any kind of help." Usagi said in front of them before turning into Sailor Cosmos herself. As soon as the last scout had turned, they were ambushed on all sides by youma.

"Dammit, they opened a portal!" Cosmos cried while pushing back the oncoming forces. Laughing was heard and she saw the two women from previous encounters. Both had on skimpy black dresses with one having long, pink hair and red eyes and the other light green hair and dark green eyes.

"Cosmos! Can you call the others?" Venus asked while dodging an enemy attack.

"They're blocking me telepathically somehow and I can't get a break in to use the communicator." Cosmos replied with frustration.

The enemy wasn't very tough but the sheer mass of them was going to take some time to defeat and with more pouring through the hole, they would grow tired before defeating them all. She had to find a way to close that portal without leaving the inners defenseless.

She also had no clue what the two women were doing and couldn't find out how powerful they were. If only she could communicate with the others for backup!

"Darien!" Cosmos called over the chaos around them.

He was hunched over Serena surrounded by the scouts. He gave her a sign that he had heard her. With a quick attack to the enemy around her, Cosmos quickly grabbed her communicator and threw it at him.

"Call for help!" She yelled and barely managed to stay on her feet as a black orb hit her in the stomach. Looking up, she met the eyes of the green haired woman who was laughing like a maniac.

"Pay attention, my dear. Or you won't be so lucky next time!" The woman said laughing again at the evil look Cosmos gave her.

Gritting her teeth at the pain and the smell of burnt skin, Cosmos continued attacking and helping the scouts when they needed it. They were in trouble, Darien had tried getting ahold of everyone else, but they were all in their own fights. The enemy had attacked them all at once so there would be no reinforcements. If only Cosmos could figure out what they were trying to do.

"Serena!" The scream of pure terror pushed her out of her stupor and Cosmos did a back flip inside the circle and kicked the youma about to bite Serena upside the head. The youma disappeared across the ground and two more youma replaced it.

Cursing under her breath, Darien stood over a frightened Serena who was cradling unconscious Mercury. The other three girls were in a tight circle around the three.

"Guess I have no other choice." Cosmos muttered to herself all the while cursing herself for wanting to die. Whispering the words, she put a barrier around the group and smiled at the youma who got fried from trying to touch it.

The barrier wouldn't hold for too long and already she could feel it sapping at her strength, but there was no other choice. The scouts weren't made for this kind of fighting and she couldn't bear it if they got hurt because of her weakness.

She would just have to fight all by herself. Cosmos was proud of herself. Years ago she would be the one inside the protection and watching while her friends got hurt by trying to save her. Now she could stand her own and finally make up to them for being such a liability all those times.

"Hahaha looky here, Momo. The little girl thinks she can take us all on by herself?" The green headed woman taunted her.

"We will see about that, Dede." Momo said while unleashing a dark wave of power towards Cosmos.

Cosmos eyed the wave coming towards her that spread out till there wasn't any way she could dodge it. Preparing herself, she heard the cries of the scouts behind her. Smiling a bit she closed her eyes right before it hit her. Instantly terror clawed its way into her heart.

Dropping her staff, Cosmos fought through the waves of terror and pain coursing through her body. Too late she remembered the others wondering if the pink haired lady could manipulate emotions.

Stifling a scream as a youma hit her while she was down, Cosmos tried to pull herself together. Voices fought to break through her consciousness and she barely had the control to keep the shield up around the scouts. More pain as the youma took their chances to try to kill her. Cosmos barely could fight off most of the advances and felt exhausted when the terror finally got to a tolerable level. For once, she didn't know if she could win this fight.

*elsewhere*

"Do you think Usagi will be okay with them by herself?" Linda asked Travis while walking down the street.

"I hope so. Usagi has put up a tough barrier around her heart but it's slowly thawing out." Travis said with a hint of worry in his voice.

Placing her hand over his, Linda smiled and said, "I'm sure everything will work out the best in the end." Leaning over Travis gave Linda quick kiss and smiled at her dumbstruck look.

Even after all the years of being together in the past, each time they kissed left her breathless.

"Anyway, you never told me how you got this clue on where he could be." Linda pouted while glancing sideways at him.

Smiling mischievously, Travis answered, "Turns out I already knew him in this life time. I just didn't realize who he was until I met you."

"Does he know we are coming?" Linda asked.

"Jake is with him right now. We hinted that we might know where his sister is but I haven't mentioned Erika yet." Travis said, and then asked. "Why didn't you bring her?"

Stumbling a bit at the question, Linda put her hands behind her and looked at the sky. "I didn't want to get her hopes up just in case you were wrong. Not saying that you are….but there's a lot of things that could go wrong. What if I can't restore his memories? What if he's already married or has a girlfriend? I don't want her to get hurt if I can help it."

"Everything will be fine and then she can be happily reunited just like we were." Travis smiled and gazed into his long lost love's eyes. "Soon everything will be like it used to be and we can work on a new life together."

"That sounds wonderful." Linda answered.

"That sounds like something out of a corny romance novel." A voice said in front of them awakening them to the fact that they made it to their destination.

An older man with short, slicked back brown hair stood in front of them with twinkling baby blue eyes behind silver rimmed glasses. Beside that man stood another man, closer to their age, with short, spiky red hair and almond eyes that was snickering at the joke.

Linda felt a sense of déjà vu looking at the two. She could see the man as the brown cat who was Travis' guardian in the Silver millennium. The other man, well he was most definitely Prince Ares of Mars.

"Jake and Alex, this is my…girlfriend, Linda. Linda, this is my guardian Jake and my friend Alex." Jake immediately gathered her into a hug and whispered in her ear that he was happy to see her again. Alex opted for a simple handshake that shocked both of them with static electricity.

Laughing at the shocked look on his face and rubbing her hand on her skirt, Linda smiled at his confusion. She itched to call Erika over, but still had to find out his background first.

After sitting down in Jake's house in the living room, Linda tried to subtly grill Alex for answers. She found out Travis and Alex attended the same high school until Alex' family moved. He had just gotten out of a long term relationship and wasn't currently looking to be in another one. He had no clue about his past or powers (she figured that one out for herself) and he didn't remember Erika of course.

"Alex, would you mind coming and meeting a friend of mine? I know you said you weren't looking for another relationship, but I have a feeling you will change your mind once you see her." Linda said as they were getting ready to leave for the day.

Alex gave her a look and scratched the back of his head. "I don't really like blind dates."

"Travis and I will be there. You just have to come with us and look at her. I won't even mention you to her so you can leave if you don't like what you see!" Linda said getting desperate. She was contemplating just tying him in a chair and unlocking his memories forcefully.

"I don't know. It kind of seems like your pimping your friend out to me." Alex said.

"Come on, dude. You owe me one." Travis said coming to her defense.

"Aww I can't believe you still remember that! That girl was crazy. She wouldn't stop stalking me which is why I don't really feel like meeting your friend." Alex said with a groan.

"I had to deal with her stalking me for a couple weeks before I could set her up with someone who actually wanted to be with her. You totally owe me." Travis said not budging at the puppy dog look Alex was trying to give him.

"Fine, but if she's another stalker then you owe ME!" Alex said ignoring Linda's shout of joy and affirmation that he won't regret it.

Linda went to grab her phone to call Erika but heard a buzzing sound coming from something else. Realizing it was her communicator; she hurried up and opened it to see Erika's battered face.

"Linda, come quick please…." The communicator buzzed out and she barely heard "hospital" before the line went dead. Immediately another buzzing sound came but instead it was Darien who popped up saying they were being attacked as well.

"What's wrong, Linda?" Travis said from behind her.

"Erika's being attacked as well as Darien and the others." Linda said and then tried contacting Nathan through the communicator.

It took a few tries before his weary head appeared and Linda could tell they were fighting the enemy too. They were lucky though and had all of the Outers (except Pluto) and the generals with them. Linda quickly updated them on the Inner scouts situation and their own. They promised to send over Jed, Keith, and Saturn over there as quickly as possible.

"Travis, I think you should go to Cosmos too." Linda said already preparing for a fight.

"What? No way. She already has the Inner scouts and those three are headed that way. We don't know how many enemies are with Erika and I don't want you getting hurt." Travis said, crossing his arms over his chest and daring her to argue.

Linda tilted her chin up at him and said, "Darien said Cosmos was hurt and there was a portal there. Plus both of those evil ladies! They need more help there."

"I'm not leaving you!" Travis said quietly.

"Your sister needs you more." Linda said turning away from him and looking at Alex' confused face.

"Fine, I'll go only if you restore his memories now." Travis said with a tone that said no arguing.

Sighing Linda agreed and then got to work explaining everything to Alex. She could feel that they were already running out of time.

*At the hospital*

Erika felt torn and decided a quick visit to Rose would clear her head up a bit. She was happy for Linda and Travis on finding each other in this life, but seeing them made her miss Ares all the more. She missed having someone that she could turn to for anything even if it was just a hug. He was her rock and without him, she was incomplete.

She wondered what he was up to. Thinking about him already having someone special in this life broke her heart. He was her soul mate and nobody else would do. What if the enemy had gotten him and he was comatose like Rose in some hospital? Shaking her head, she tried to rid herself of the negative thoughts and hope that they would be reunited one day.

She finally arrived at Rose's new room that Darien had arranged for her. It had a nice window that let the sunlight come in perfectly. Brushing back Rose's bangs from her face, Erika sat down beside her in the chair.

"Rose, how do we rescue you? You never even had the chance to fall in love back in the silver millennium and the enemy has your jewel. Ugh this is all frustrating! We don't even know why they want the stupid jewels or why you and Linda are keepers of them. This is all confusing!" Erika could feel the tears trailing down her face and slumped forward against the bed. Back in the orphanage, the three of them were close friends. They would stay up past lights out and talk quietly among themselves.

They would make up stories of faraway places and princes that would come rescue them, anything to get rid of the gloom and despair hanging to the orphanage's walls. When Rose was attacked, Linda and Erika had blamed themselves for letting her be by herself for that long. They all knew that staying together was the best thing, but that day Rose had been singled out to do garden duty. Now here they were again, too late to help and save their friend.

"We will find a way to help you, Rose. I promise." Erika said before getting up and placing a small kiss on Rose's forehead. She hoped Rose heard her and would know they were here for her.

On her way out, Erika decided to take the back road and more secluded way home. She probably looked a mess from crying and her vanity didn't want anyone to see her like that.

"Hello." A girl said in front of her. Erika stopped short and blinked her eyes. She must have been in deep thought because she didn't even see her there.

The girl looked to be a few years younger than her and had goldish-red hair with the bluest eyes, Erika had ever seen. She was wearing a black thigh length jacket that was buttoned up with knee high black boots. Her hair was in pigtails with black bows holding them up.

She looked vaguely familiar to Erika.

"Do you want to play?" The girl asked Erika while she was scrutinizing her.

"I'd rather not. I have some place I need to be." Erika said starting to feel something off with the whole situation.

"ERRRHH! Wrong answer. Please try again." The girl said while laughing.

Shaking her head at the girl, Erika said again, "I'm afraid I can't play with you. But I'm sure there are lots of other little kids who would love to at the hospital."

"No, no, no! No one but you will do." The girl said finally appearing to be mad at Erika's unwillingness.

"Fine if you won't play willingly, I'll force you to play!" With that being said, the girl spread out her arm and a portal appeared full of youma. Erika gasped at the sheer numbers and quickly transformed right before the first of the youma made it to her.

Quickly her energy was being depleted from trying to contend with so many youma at once. She started to run past them but was met with an invisible barrier. She heard the girl laughing at her frustrated look.

"Sorry but no cheating in this game. You have to stay and play." The girl said when she knew she had Sun's attention. Taking the chance, Sun opened her communicator and contacted Linda. She barely got out anything before it fizzled and the communication was lost.

"Hahah like I would let you call reinforcements!" The girl said using an attack that consisted of little stars to overcharge the device.

All of a sudden, she knew who the girl was. "Stellar? Is that you?" Sun gasped which was the perfect opportunity for two youma to grab her.

"I was wondering when you would remember me. I haven't changed that much." Stellar said smiling at her.

"Why? Why would you betray us? We were your friends!" Sun yelled trying to find the good still left in her.

"Why? Why?" Laughing at her own private joke, Stellar continued, "None of you ever wanted me around. I was always stuck in Luna's shadow. You didn't even notice when I went missing!" Suddenly she wasn't laughing anymore and the air around them grew chillier.

"They caught me when I was playing outside and tortured me for days for information on the Moon kingdom. But I didn't say anything because I thought you guys would come to rescue me! Then they showed me how none of you even noticed I was missing. You didn't even care that I was gone!" Stellar yelled the last part.

Sun scrounged through her memories trying to think of what Stellar was talking about. Then she remembered the time Stellar disappeared and everyone was frantic looking for her. Luna about killed herself from the worry.

"We did too notice you were missing. We searched for you for days until you showed back up as good as new and said you were just lost in the woods. Are you saying the enemy had you the entire time?" Sun asked shocked at what she just heard.

"Puhleaze! I saw the videos of all of you having a good time without me. I know you didn't miss me. And yeah they finally let me go when I complied with them. I told them everything and they were the ones who manipulated Beryl into attacking the silver kingdom with the information I gave them!" Stellar laughed again this time not so angry.

Betrayal hit Sun and she struggled with the angry and pity she had directed at Stellar. She lost everything because Stellar was tricked into believing her family abandoned her. And now it was happening again because no one took the time out to really make sure Stellar was alright.

"I'm sorry, Stellar. We should have been there for you. Please do whatever you think is necessary to atone for our sins." Sun said finally tired of fighting all of the time.

"Will do." Stellar said with an evil smirk and signaled for the youmas to do their job. Sun screamed as she was hit in the stomach and wrenched out of the two youma's grasps. Before she hit the ground, another youma kicked her back towards the last two. For what seemed like hours, she was tossed back and forth between the youma while Stellar watched on with glee.

Black edges gathered around her vision and she wondered why she wasn't fighting back. But she deserved this for letting down her friends.

"No you don't." A voice said before warm arms caught her. Pushing back the darkness for a second, Sun focused in on a face that she could never forget. "Ares." She whispered before letting the darkness claim her.

*With Cosmos*

"I'm here." Darien's voice said while he lifted her up by her arms. Cosmos let out a sigh of relief as his calming presence chased away the last level of terror. Being in Darien's arms had always made her feel safe.

"What about the princess?" Cosmos managed to whisper, her throat sore from all the screaming.

"The girls are protecting her and your barrier is preventing anything from getting to her." Darien said as he positioned himself back to back with Cosmos.

Picking up her staff again, Cosmos steadied herself on her wobbly feet. Her head was pounding and her body aching from the many bruises, but with Darien at her side she felt more rejuvenated.

"I'm here too, Cosmos." Travis said appearing on the other side to form a triangle. He eyed the two women warily while assessing the situation. He wanted to get this over quickly so he could help Linda and the others.

Nodding to him, Cosmos began to take charge again. "My shield won't hold up for too much longer so we have to finish this quickly. We need to take care of that portal first."

"I can do that." Saturn said popping up with Keith and Jed.

"Good. Jed and Keith, you two protect the girls in case the barrier breaks. Darien, cover Saturn while she takes down the portal. Travis, you and I have a date with the evil duo." Cosmos said and then everyone dispersed with their missions.

Cosmos concentrated on the two women trusting that everyone else could handle themselves. She had yet to see why they were attacking them and wondered what she was missing.

"Cosmos, I think we are missing something." Travis said.

"You just read my mind. I was thinking the same thing." Cosmos said, preparing her staff.

"Guess we will just have to wait to find out." Travis said pulling out his sword.

"Guess so." And with that Cosmos called out Moon Protector Waning Light and watched as it hit an invisible shield.

"Kinda figured that would happen." Cosmos said while nodding to Travis.

"Hahah like we would let you hit us with your weak attacks." Dede said smiling evilly at them.

"Let us show you how it's done." Momo said and surprised them by firing at Cosmos' shield protecting the Inners and princess. The attack completely demolished it and scattered the girls in different directions.

Cosmos groaned as the shield's backlash hit her already bruised body and fell to her knees. She vaguely felt Travis' move in front of her.

"How pathetic! One blast and poof its gone!" Dede laughed.

"Let's get this over with. I'm tired of playing around with these weaklings." Momo said looking bored.

"We will show you weaklings!" Travis said and ran his hand down his sword. "Cosmos, let's show them how we roll!" He said glancing down at her.

"Sure, Travis. Let's do this." Pushing herself up with her staff, Cosmos mimicked his action on her staff until it was glowing as brightly as his.

In unison they said, "Full Moon Duo Ascend!" As soon they chanted the last part, their staff and sword touched creating a wave of light ascending towards the two at lightening speeds.

Turning while keeping the weapons touched, the two sent the light across the field where the rest of the youma were instantly disintegrating them. When the dust cleared, Cosmos was leaning heavily on Travis and breathing shallow breaths.

"Stay with me, Cosmos." Travis said supporting her weight.

The dust finally cleared and everyone stared in stupor at the two women still standing with only a few bruises.

"You made me break a nail! You're going to pay for that!" With that Momo opened up another portal on the end near the Inners and princess that had youma tumbling out of it.

"Saturn!" Travis yelled and glanced to see Saturn just now being able to close the first one.

"Go help them, Travis. I'll be fine by myself." Cosmos said looking up at him.

"No, Cosmos. I'm not leaving you. They'll just have to take care of themselves." Travis said gritting his teeth at the scene in front of him.

Keith and Venus were separated from the group surrounded by a circle of youma while the same was for Jed and Mars. Jupiter was barely holding her own against the youma while trying to protect Mercury and Serena.

"Travis, go!" Cosmos cried pushing him forward and stumbling a bit while doing so.

"Shit." Travis said and finally went when a youma almost sliced off Jupiter's head. Struggling into a standing position, Cosmos started calling out attacks in attempt to help the others too.

"Serena!" Darien yelled behind her and time seemed to freeze when she noticed the dark cloaked man had Serena by the throat and was staring into her eyes.

"What the hell?" Cosmos said in confusion as the man seemed to be pulling out Serena's rainbow jewel.

Feeling a pinched feeling in her chest, Cosmos looked down at the light glowing inside her chest. A pulling sensation began to make itself known and she fell clutching at it. "What is going on?" She screamed in agony.

*With Erika*

"Ares, protect Sun!" Stars yelled as she began finishing off the youma that was just torturing her friend. She barely spared a glance to the girl watching everything in amusement.

Luckily for her, the portal had already closed probably opening up somewhere else. In moments, she was able to take care of most of the youma.

"Strong one, aren't you?" The girl said.

"I try." Stars replied with a grin. Breathing heavily, she focused on the remaining few youma and called one of her more powerful attacks.

"I see you don't remember me either. And after all the times I took care of you." The girl said with a frown.

Concentrating on her, Stars finally realized there was something familiar about her, but something was blocking her memory.

"I'll help you remember." The girl said and spread her arms out wide. Immediately the air felt thicker and Stars fell to her knees, hearing Ares do the same.

Then as soon as it happened, it was gone. Only one person she knew could manipulate gravity like that. "Stellar?" Stars asked in a whisper.

"Of course, who else?" The girl laughed happy again. Then she stopped as if listening to something.

"Sorry, but it seems like playtime is over! Time to get serious." An evil look overcame her face and then everything vanished.

When Stars opened her eyes, they were in the middle of this field with the other scouts. She could see Travis' surprised look at her sudden appearance.

"We are here!" Stellar cried out clapping her hands together in joy. The two women gave her snide looks in return.

"Oh look, Momo. The brat is back. Hurray." Dede said snickering.

"She's too late for the fun anyway. We already have the moon princess." Momo said looking down her nose at Stellar.

"Stop hating because you're old, wrinkly women!" Stellar said flipping them off. "Besides, I have the Stars princess and Sun princess. I beat you!"

Stars wondered what they needed them for and could see Travis' look of fear. He swiftly got rid of the youma he was fighting and tried to come near her. Instead he was met with a barrier.

"I'm sorry. But I didn't invite you to play." Stellar said and with a flick of her wrist sent Travis flying through the air.

"Travis!" Stars screamed and tried to go after him but was pushed back by the barrier.

"This one isn't working." A voice said above her .The man with the cloak was clutching at Serena, except now she was transformed into the princess.

Stars couldn't believe that she had actually transformed into Princess Serenity and looked anxiously for Cosmos. She found Cosmos on the ground clutching at her chest.

The man dropped the princess into the barrier with Stars and then set his glowing eyes on her.

"No. Not again!" Stars cried while trying to scramble away. Fear infiltrated her senses telling her to run. "Travis!" She cried in terror and could barely hear his response.

"Now, now. There is no running. Look at me." She heard and then she was pulled up by the hair.

Screaming at the pain, she was turned so now he was clutching her throat and forcing her to stare into his eyes.

"Give it to me." He said and then she lost consciousness as the wrenching feeling became too much.

Cosmos felt the pain began to subside and finally came to as the cloaked man dropped Stars to the ground. Inside his hand was the rainbow jewel.

"No! Stars!" She yelled hoarsely and tried crawling to her. She had to do something.

In shock, she watched the man blast the man holding Sun away and started to take her crystal too. Pushing herself slowly to her feet, she struggled to help her friends.

Then she noticed that Serena was garbed in the princess gown. "How is that possible?" she whispered to herself. First the man attacked the princess and now she actually looked like Princess Serenity.

Walking or more like stumbling, Cosmos made it to the barrier only to find it gone now. Reaching down she grabbed Princess Serenity's arm and gasped at the sensation. Finally she realized who the imposter really was.

Darien stood frozen on the battlefield as he surveyed the chaos. The Outers, Nathan, and Zach had arrived and finished off the youma. Now everyone was on their knees watching as the cloaked man stole Sun's jewel. The two evil women stood in the air watching everything in triumph. Another girl stood next to them looking down at Sun and Star with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Travis and a new guy were using their life forces to sustain Stars and Sun until they could return their jewels.

"Serena." He whispered and saw her on the ground. For some reason the enemy wasn't able to steal her jewel. His feet told him to move to her but he saw Cosmos already by her side. Then Cosmos grabbed her arm and…and then they both vanished.


	15. Who Is That Cloaked Man?

Hello, everyone. I would apologize for the lack of updates but this story has been nothing but slow updates! I'm getting to the end of the story and hopefully can finish it off without too many mistakes. Looking over the previous chapters, there's a lot I wish I would have done differently but oh well. This was my first fanfic and hopefully entertained some of you! Enjoy! Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Chapter 15: Who Is That Cloaked Man?

Mama, what is the silver imperium crystal?" A young Princess Serenity asked, no older than seven years of age.

Queen Serenity smiled at her daughter while carefully placing the glowing crystal back on the pedestal. Her daughter revered the crystal with awe and small fingers itched to touch it.

Grasping one of the hands in her own, Queen Serenity pulled the princess away and started towards the door.

"My dear, the silver imperium crystal helps keep us safe by granting wishes. It is passed down mother to daughter within our family and must be protected by us at all times. One day it will be your turn to wield it." The queen said while enchanting the room from allowing any in it besides herself.

"Grants wishes? Like I could wish for a new pony and it would give one to me?" Princess Serenity asked with excitement in her voice.

"Not exactly, my sweet. We are entrusted by our people to only use the crystal for good and non-frivolous wishes. We must use it to defeat evil, not for new ponies." Queen Serenity said with a stern voice.

"Oh, I understand, mama. When it's my time, I'll use it for good and to protect my friends!" Princess Serenity said bringing a smile to her mother's face.

"Just remember, you're not the only one with a crystal. There are three more that were entrusted with other rulers of kingdoms."

"The Stars and Sun kingdoms! But who has the third one?" Princess Serenity asked interrupting her mother's lecture.

"It belongs to the Earth kingdom."

"But I thought they couldn't be trusted?" She asked puzzled.

"Back when this was first happening, the Earth kingdom was one of the more powerful kingdoms in the solar system. Then they became too power hungry and tried to take over the rest of the kingdoms. The rest of the solar system banded together and defeated the Earth kingdom. Now they are barely allowed in the alliance and are still winning back the trust of everyone." She waited till the young princess nodded in understanding before she continued.

"As I was saying, the silver imperium crystal is just one of the four but it is the most powerful which is why we were elected to lead the solar system and to keep peace within it. The silver imperium crystal is your legacy and without it we will fall." The queen stopped to sit on a bench in the royal gardens and motioned for her daughter to sit beside her.

A few minutes of silence went by which was rare since the princess loved to talk. Finally she broke the silence.

"Mama, what happens if all the crystals are brought together?"

Queen Serenity's eyes darkened at the thought and her mother's warning echoed in her mind.

"The crystals alone cannot do any damage, but if they are attached to a special mirror then the world is doomed. The crystals are the power source to the mirror of worlds. Once the mirror is activated then the person controlling it has access to any place they desire." A slight shudder went through the queen, startling the princess.

"Mama, I don't understand. How is that bad?" The princess asked starting to feel her mother's apprehension.

"There are worlds out there that you never want to go to, Serenity. Worlds filled with evil creatures that live off our fears. The mirror can bring all those creatures into our world. You must never let the crystals unite, promise me that." The queen said recalling her own promise to her mother.

"Of course, mother. I promise to never let that happen." The princess vowed.

"Now, let's go see what the cook is making! I'm sure I heard her say something about apple pie earlier." The queen said shaking off the solemn mood.

Clapping her hands together in joy, the princess rushed off to the kitchen with her mother laughing and following behind her.

*Present Day*

Cosmos lifted herself off the cold rocks and pressed her hand to her head. The memory of her talk with her mother left a tight feeling in her stomach.

"Do you remember now, Serenity?" Her mother's voice called out to her.

Turning, she saw the hologram that represented the only life left of her mother. Near it was Serena's unconscious form, still in the princess outfit.

"I still don't understand, Mother." Cosmos said moving so she was sitting with Serena's head in her lap.

When she was settled, she continued, "If they are after the crystals, what is the purpose of the rainbow jewels?"

"Have you already forgotten how you retrieved the silver imperium crystal?" The question prompted the buried memory of when she first learned she was the missing moon princess and Darien was her prince. The silver imperium crystal had formed through her tear by uniting the rainbow crystals.

"No, Mother, I remember. But if their rainbow jewels call forth their crystals then we are doomed. The enemy already has all of the crystals." A tear of frustration slipped out as she thought of the lifeless bodies of her friends.

"Fear not, my daughter. The enemy still does not have the silver crystal." The small figure of the queen smiled at her.

"And the enemy does not know that you are the real princess." The queen added glancing at the other princess in her lap.

"Who is she, mother?" Cosmos asked absently stroking the princess' golden strands.

"I think you already know the answer to that."

"But how is that possible?" Confusion clouded her eyes and she barely refrained from shaking the slumbering princess awake and demanding answers.

"When you wished upon the silver crystal to take you away after your fight with the Inners and Darien, the crystal took your wish literally. It took away all the traits of you that you considered faults and made this form of you. Then when you came back and started to remember who you used to be, she appeared."

"What am I supposed to do now, Mother? I'm so confused." Tears of frustration slipped down her cheeks as she angrily tried to wipe them away.

"I can't tell you what to do, my sweet. Just trust in your heart and listen to what it tells you to do." Queen Serenity said.

Travis cradled Linda in his arms, feeding her what little energy he had left. He could see Alex doing the same to Erika just a few feet over. Cosmos had disappeared with Princess Serenity leaving Darien and everyone else looking lost.

"That's interesting." The new girl murmured while eyeing the guy in the cloak.

"She will be back." He said disregarding the silent question. "But now we need to finish the rest of them off." Twirling the jewels in his hands, he started chanting something in a different language.

"Travis!" He heard Darien yell in warning as Star's body started to glow a bright purple.

Anxiously, he saw Sun's doing the same except in a golden color. Then with a final word, Star disappeared from his arms leaving him clutching at air.

"No!" The word left his throat in an anguished cry and he could hear Alex' own cry echoing after his.

"Rose?" Vaguely he heard Darien's question. Looking up he saw Star, Sun and now Sailor Earth hovering in front of the cloaked man.

"What's he doing with them? Star! Wake up, please!" Nathan yelled behind him and almost started to rush towards them, but Jupiter held him back.

Travis searched desperately for any sign of consciousness from Star or the others but they were still dead to the world. Suddenly the jewels glowed again and Star's eyes popped open.

"Go". The man whispered and the girls disappeared in a flash. He began laughing as Travis was pushed roughly out of the way by Uranus who parried Star's attack with her sword.

Confusion clouded his judgment and he pushed Uranus so her retaliation attack missed Star.

"What are you doing?" Uranus cried angrily at him as Star attacked an unsuspecting Neptune.

Looking at her stupidly, Uranus growled and spit out the last words he wanted to hear. "She's being controlled by him! She's the enemy until we can get her rainbow jewel back."

He clung to his denial even as Star's emotionless eyes watched as her attacks hit the people she used to call friends. Even her own brother was targeted and only survived thanks once again to Jupiter's quick thinking. Sun and Earth were also joining in, throwing attacks at anyone who dared to catch their attention. Even though they were only being attacked by three people, the rest of the group was suffering from not wanting to hurt their once friends.

"No. This can't be." Travis whispered as Star threw sharp stars at him.

Memories of their past life together flitted through his memory. How could they ever expect him to see his soul mate as his enemy?

"Dammit." He pulled up his sword at the last minute to deflect the projectiles aimed for his head. Stumbling at the force behind them, he missed the follow up kick and was thrown back a couple of feet.

Instantly he was forced to roll to his side as a fist hit the ground where he was just lying. From his roll, he jumped to his feet and blocked the next punch. Fighting hand to hand, he could now see Star's eyes were a pool of black, devoid of all emotion.

"Please, Star. Snap out of this. You're stronger than this!" He cried in between attacks and was rewarded when she stumbled for an instance.

"I know you're still in there. Please come back to me." He said dropping his hands and holding out his arms to her. He could see her fighting the control the man had over her. Gripping her hair, she started to cry out.

"Please….Travis….stop me!" She cried and glowed as the man enforced his control over her once again. Jumping back, she formed a triangle with Sailor Sun and Sailor Earth who looked to be fighting their own internal battles as well. With tears streaming from her eyes, Star looked at him with clear eyes before they glossed over again.

Alex appeared beside him and Darien on the other side. One by one, the rest of the scouts and guardians formed a group behind him.

"What do we do? We can't hurt them." Darien said.

"I wish Cosmos was here. She would know what to do." Travis said in frustration.

"Rainbow Kaleidoscope Encircle!" A band of colors wrapped around Star, Sun and Earth preventing them from moving. Sailor Rainbow appeared in front of Travis with Luna and Artemis beside her.

"Sorry for taking so long." Rainbow said focusing on keeping the girls trapped.

"Where's Cosmos?" She asked in afterthought.

"She disappeared with the moon princess. But right now we have bigger problems. That cloaked freak has the rainbow jewels!" Travis said with fury.

"This is getting boring. Can't we finish them off while waiting for that moon brat to reappear?" Momo asked with a whine to her voice.

The cloaked man nodded at Stellar who started to look uncertain.

"Do it." He said with a force behind his voice.

"Of course." Stellar said with certainty now. Vanishing she reappeared beside Rainbow whom she pushed back with a black orb, releasing the three scouts from her grasp.

Immediately the three begin to attack the scouts and guardians once again.

"Stellar?" Luna's quiet question stopped Stellar from releasing another orb of negative energy.

"I see you didn't need any help remembering me, Lunabean." Stellar smiled at her turning around so they were standing face to face a few feet apart.

"What are you doing, Stellar?" Luna asked. She could sense Artemis behind her ready to step in if Stellar tried attacking.

Throwing her hands up in exasperation, Stellar mimicked her question. "Geez, can't a girl have fun without having everyone questioning her actions?" Laughing as if a joke, Stellar continued, "Why do you care anyway? It's not like you wanted me around you. All you cared about was your stupid moon princess."

"That's not true, Stellar! You're my baby sister. I always want you around!" Luna said with tears flowing from her eyes. She took a step towards Stellar but was met with a shield.

"Lies! You never wanted me. You didn't even notice when I went missing!" With an angry scream, Stellar released her ability and watched with triumph as everyone around her fell to their knees as gravity pushed down on them.

"She's telling the truth, Stellar! Luna almost went mad with grief when we couldn't find you. She wouldn't eat or sleep until we had to force her." Artemis cried from his position by Luna.

"I don't even know why I bothered trying to listen to you. He told me you would try lying to me." As she said this, her eyes glowed a piercing red. Sun, Star, and Earth came to stand behind her, waiting to do her bidding.

"It's time to finish this and then destroy your precious moon princess when she returns!" Stellar said with a laugh.

"No, Stellar!" Luna cried as the gravity increased and they were forced to lie on the ground. It felt like her whole body was about to be flattened from all the pressure. Luna didn't know where she went wrong. She tried raising Stellar the best she could do once their parents were gone. She gave her everything she wanted and tried to instill good values in her.

When Stellar went missing during the silver millennium, she searched for days refusing to take care of her own body. She had felt like she failed as Stellar's guardian. Then miraculously Stellar had reappeared acting like nothing had happened. Luna was so happy that she was back she never noticed the darkness in Stellar that hadn't been there before until it was too late.

Then during this time line, Stellar had appeared after they had moved into their new home asking Luna to help her. Of course, Luna did only to find out later that Stellar had been using her to find out information about the moon princess. Luckily, by then Serena had taken on the role as Usagi and was testing out her new identity on Stellar.

"I'm sorry, Stellar. I failed you." Luna said before blacking out from the strain on her body.

"Luna?" Stellar asked, releasing the gravity instantly.

She could hear everyone taking in greedy gasps of breath, but all her concentration was on Luna's unmoving body.

"Lunabean?" She watched as Artemis crawled over to her sister and tried shaking her awake. When this didn't work, she saw his eyes widen in fright. Bending over, he listened for a heartbeat and then cried out.

"No, Luna!" Frightened, she started to run over to her but was held back by the arms of the manipulated scouts.

"What do you think you're doing?" Momo asked above her. Delighted at the turn of events, she turned to her twin Dede.

"What do you think she's doing, Momo?" Dede asked also happy that they could punish her.

"I think she's trying to betray us." Momo said.

"Leave me alone, you witches! I never meant for Luna to die! I just wanted her to hurt as bad as I did." Stellar said with tears flying from her eyes.

"Well you did kill her. You killed your precious sister." Momo said in an accusing voice.

"What a shame she was telling the truth the whole time." Dede said with fake compassion.

"What?" Stellar said looking up at the two.

"We manipulated your feelings and faked those videos. They really did try looking for you." Momo said with a laugh.

"Stupid girl. You were so easy to fool." Dede added.

"It was all a lie? I betrayed my kingdom for nothing?" The enormity of what she did tore through Stellar and she let out an anguished cry.

"Leave her alone!" Jupiter cried out distracting them.

"What did you say to us, you piece of trash?" Momo shrieked.

"She said, leave her alone. Or are you too old to hear that well anymore?" Mars asked with a smirk as she forced herself to her feet, the rest of the Inner scouts following behind her.

"You're going to pay for that!" Momo said giving them her full attention.

"Why?" Stellar asked in a whisper.

"We know how it is to be tricked by these two. What's done is done. All we can hope for now is the chance to make up for the mistakes we have made." Venus said with a smile full of compassion at her.

"Atone for our sins." Stellar whispered with a smile.

"Ugh this is making me sick. Momo, let's get rid of them!" Dede said and clasped her twin's hand.

"Yes, let's finish this off." Dede said.

"World Shaking!" The attack bounced off the shield around Momo and Dede.

"Don't forget that we are here too." Uranus said with a smirk as she pulled out her rapier.

Travis waited till he had Darien's attention and then nodded. Then he gave another nod to Uranus who proceeded to combine her attack with Neptune and launched it at the twins.

As the dust from the attack clouded the field, Travis pulled his sword out and attacked the cloaked man. He was met with a barrier as well, but attacked again with Darien and Alex attacking on the other side.

"So foolish to think you could take me on." The cloaked man said as he waved his hands.

Travis felt Star move behind him but then she vanished.

Looking back, he saw Nathan fighting her off from attacking him. Turning, he saw Zach and Keith fighting Sun and Jed fighting Earth.

Glancing at Darien and Alex, he mentally told them his plan. Then with perfect timing, all three threw all of their strength into the last attack against the cloaked man. Immediately, they were thrown back from the shield, but the distraction was just what Travis needed. Following up, Saturn hit the shield with her glaive, instantly disintegrating it and forcing the cloaked man to defend himself.

Travis, Darien and Alex were on their feet in a second and alternating in attacking the man. Down below them, the girls were fighting the evil twins, not giving them a chance to help out their leader.

Then with a combined attack from Saturn and Rainbow who helped join the fight, Travis saw his chance and slashed at the hand controlling the jewels. With an angry grunt, the man was forced to release them.

"Darien!" Travis yelled as he watched the jewels drop. He attempted to reach them himself but saw them land safely in Darien's hands. Glancing around anxiously, he saw Star, Sun and Earth drop to the ground with one of the guardian's catching them.

Turning back to the cloaked man, Travis let out an uneasy breath. The cloak had fallen off his face revealing a skeleton.

"I need more power." The skeletal face whispered and then the eyes started to glow a brilliant red.

"Momo!" Dede yelled as the skeletal figure appeared between them.

"Yours will do just nicely." It said and proceeded to make Momo stare into his glowing eyes.

"I'm sorry, Dede." Momo said before she disintegrated into a pile of dust.

"You bastard! You'll pay for this!" Dede screamed but before she could attack, she too was forced to stare into his eyes and her powers were drained from her.

In morbid fascination, the group watched as muscles, veins, and finally skin began to grow over the skeletal features. Long red hair was the last to grow as it flowed from the scalp down to ground.

"That's much better." The newly formed woman said as she shrugged off the cloak to reveal a black scout uniform.

"What just happened?" Jed's question made the woman smile seductively at him.

"Aren't you just a handsome thing?" Putting her hand on her hip, she smiled flirtatiously at him. Immediately, Mars moved to his side as he got a glazed look on his face.

"Leave him alone, hag." Mars said with menace in her voice snapping Jed awake.

"Awww you do care after all, Mars." Jed said happily giving her an adoring look.

"Oh whatever. I just didn't want you turning into some lovesick puppy over the enemy!" Mars said with a blush on her cheeks.

Fuming at the word hag, the woman sneered at them. Then in an instance, she had grabbed the jewels from Darien and had the three scouts under her control again.

"Once I have the moon jewel, I can open the portal to the Netherworld and make this planet my new home." She screamed at them and then with a flick of her wrist picked up Stellar with an invisible hand.

"As for you, you will be the first to die for trying to betray me." Smirking at the struggling Stellar and the cries from those around her, she formed a fist.

Gasping at her throat, Stellar tried to breathe but found something choking her. Her eyes landed on Luna's still unconscious body and she stopped struggling. Maybe she deserved this after betraying her sister.

"Fight, Stellar. Luna wouldn't want this!" Artemis screamed from below but she ignored him. Slowly the darkness started to edge in around her vision, tunneling her vision to the woman's still smirking face.

"Well this is no fun, if you're just going to accept it." The woman said with a pout and dropped Stellar to the ground. Gasping in breaths, Stellar felt Artemis' arms around her and his voice telling her to breathe in slowly.

"What to do, what to do." The woman said eyeing the group below her. The three princes were in one group, watching the three women behind her. Then the Outers and Inners were separated into different groups with the guardians in the middle. Artemis had Luna's body beside him with Stellar in his arms and Rainbow was standing uncertainly behind him.

"I take it that you must be Queen Fireheart." Cosmos' voice rang through the silence as she appeared behind the groups of scouts. Shouts of relief and joy followed as the built up tension left their shoulders. Hope had arrived.

"Ah, the famous Sailor Cosmos here to save the day. What have you done with the moon princess? Hidden her away so I can't find her?" Queen Fireheart started laughing and with a flick of her wrist had the three brainwashed scouts laughing with her.

"I've just brought her back to where she belongs." Cosmos said with a mischievous smile now standing at the front of the group.

"Now how about we do this the simple way? You give me the jewels therefore releasing my friends and return to whatever dark hole you crawled out of. Sound like a deal?" Cosmos said waving her hand through the air flippantly.

"Sure. Right after I kill you and all your other friends." The queen said and smiled as the three scouts behind her sprung forth to attack Cosmos.

"So be it." Cosmos said with a grim face.

In a flash, she appeared before Star and whispered, "I'm sorry." Then within seconds she had knocked all three to the ground and had her shield over them, effectively trapping them.

"Now it's just you and me." Cosmos said angling her head to Queen Fireheart.

"I wouldn't want it any other way." She replied. "But I can't have your friends trying to help you."

"Watch out!" Cosmos yelled but was too late as black inky hands came up from the ground, stretching up from the ground to grab her friends in vice grips.

Helplessly she watched as they tried to evade them but the hands were everywhere. No physical attacks hurt them and their combined powers couldn't overtake the hundreds of hands grabbing for them.

Finally in what seemed like seconds, all of her friends were trapped.

"Release them." Cosmos growled clutching her staff with a tight grip.

"No, I don't think I will. Instead I think they will make a delicious treat." Alarm spread through Cosmos and she barely had the time to ponder what she meant before the screaming began.

With horror, she watched as the black hands shown with a red light and a horrible sucking sound filled the air. Realization dawned on her as she saw the red light start flowing downward into the ground. Looking at Queen Fireheart again, she noticed the black hands encircling her feet and the red light going up her body.

Closing her eyes, Queen Fireheart purred with delight. "Just as I thought…delicious."

"You monster!" Cosmos screamed and rushed at her. She flew several feet back as her staff bounced off the shield and defensive electricity pounded through her.

"You can never win now. I feel more powerful than ever." Queen Fireheart said with red eyes. As the stolen power flooded her body, her body began to grow bigger and horns appeared at the top of her head. Her eyes became more cat like and the facial bones sharpened.

Shaking off the attack, Cosmos glared at her opponent. "Losing is not an option."

"You don't have a choice." Queen Fireheart said with a smile and stretched forth her hand.

Cosmos braced herself but was still flung backward into the pit of black hands that held her now still friends. Landing hard on her back, she pulled herself to her feet only to find herself surrounded by everyone.

"Guys?" She said as she found herself slowly being enclosed. Glancing fearfully around, she saw that the black hands actually belonged to shadow being. With evil smiles, they went inside the bodies of her friends who jolted from the invasion.

"Cosmos, I'm sorry." She heard before she fell to the ground on her knees from a kick in the back.

Scrambling around, she saw the tears flowing from Travis' eyes as he set his foot back down.

"Travis?" Cosmos cried feeling trapped as her friends pushed in from all sides around her. She didn't even have enough room to launch herself in the air to fly.

A chain of hearts wrapped itself around her wrist and pulled her forward. At the other end, Venus held on tightly with tears flowing down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I can't make myself stop."

Cutting off a scream, Cosmos arched her head back as Mars grabbed her hair. Uranus grabbed her other arm and then the attacks began. One by one, each of her friends began to kick and punch her until she could barely see from all the blood pouring down her face.

"Stop!" She heard through the haze and saw through the blood pouring down her eyes, Darien fighting against the shadow being in him. With a burst of light, he broke free and rushed over to her, covering her body with his as the attacks continued.

Her face buried deep into his shoulder, Cosmos heard his grunts of pain.

"Darien! Darien, stop! You need to let me go." Crying as he continued to hold on over her, Cosmos screamed. "Save yourself. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine!"

Turning his face so he could look down at her, Darien smiled, "I'll never leave you. I don't know why but I just can't let you get hurt."

Crying, Cosmos felt hope rise in her. Even though he didn't know she was really Serena, he was protecting her. Maybe all this time he really did like her for her and not for being his long lost love the moon princess.

Suddenly the attacks stopped and Darien was hauled away by Travis and Alex. Uranus appeared before her and called forth her attack. Next came Neptune, then Rainbow, and suddenly everyone was taking their shots at her.

"How does it feel to know that your friends are the ones hurting you?" Fireheart asked from above. Without waiting for a reply, she continued. "Friends are just enemies waiting for a chance to strike when your defenses are down. I'm helping you realize that you cannot rely on anyone but yourself. Friendships are for fools who are weak."

"You're wrong." Cosmos said in a whisper coughing up blood afterward.

"What did you say?" Fireheart asked, amusement in her voice.

"I said you're wrong." Cosmos exclaimed louder. Forcing her head up to look at her, Cosmos continued.

"I used to be like you. I was betrayed by my friends but then I realized that people make mistakes. No one is perfect and nothing is worth losing a true friend over. You have to learn to forgive and overcome these things in order to see that a true friend is worth fighting for." Cosmos said and realized that even though she was talking to Queen Fireheart that this was for herself as well.

Looking back in front of her, she strained to look at Venus, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter each in the eyes before saying what she knew in her heart to be true. "I forgive you." Even though she said it during her test, she felt better by actually telling them.

Sensing their confusion, she added, "I forgive you for saying those hurtful things. And I'm sorry for leaving without trying to work through it. I ran away and I'm sorry for all the years I missed spending with you." With the last of energy she had, she willed away at the illusion that prevented them from really seeing who she was.

She heard their gasps as they cried even harder at the realization she was the missing moon princess and once again, they were hurting her.

"Serena?" Darien's strangled cry forced her to meet his eyes. Then his eyes grew determined and with a burst of strength, he shrugged off his captors. In an instant, he had her out of the scout's clutches and held her tight to his chest.

"I'm so sorry." He cried into her hair as he held her. "Me too." Cosmos whispered hugging him just as fiercely. Slowly, she raised her blue eyes to his and felt complete. Without any uncertainty, her lips met his and finally she could breathe again.


End file.
